Brookfield Properties is a fully-integrated, global real estate services company that provides industry-leading portfolio management and development capabilities across the real estate investment strategies of Brookfield Asset Management. The Olivia, located near Hudson Yards in Manhattan and managed by Brookfield Properties, sets a new standard of living, combining design and modern-day conveniences.
Brookfield Properties and Latch have built a strong, long-term partnership. Brookfield owns nearly 70,000 multifamily units across North America and understood these units needed a streamlined access management solution.
Brookfield’s early investment infused Latch with capital to quickly deploy devices across Brookfield’s portfolio. In 2019, The Eugene, an existing 62-story luxury high-rise located in Midtown West, was the first building retrofitted with Latch devices after Brookfield realized the immense value that Latch brought to their new developments. Because of the existing relationship and swift deployment at The Eugene, it was an easy decision for Brookfield to continue partnering with Latch at The Olivia.
Owners and operators of existing buildings face a unique challenge because they are limited by the building infrastructure and must approach retrofits creatively to deliver the experience residents expect—without blowing their budget. The Olivia was no different. Brookfield Properties needed to retrofit their 350-unit building quickly with minimal resident disruption. Latch responded with a six-week deployment timeline.
“We faced challenges with access management and needed to solve them quickly with a full-building solution. Our residents are at the center of what we do and their experience is important to us,” said Linda Early, President of Brookfield Properties Multifamily. “Partnering with Latch has improved our operational efficiency as well as the resident experience.”
In buildings with traditional locks, access sharing creates countless inefficiencies for both residents and building staff. Some of the challenges the building staff faced were: replacing lost keys, which was costly and had to be managed by an offsite third-party vendor; some residents weren’t returning keys after they moved out, which required units to be rekeyed before new residents could move in; a few units had multiple tenants and needed additional keys cut; and maintenance staff could only carry a dozen keys around their waist, which sometimes delayed resolving service requests.
“Replacing lost keys was a hassle for our team to coordinate. We had to work with an off-site vendor to cut new keys for us, and sometimes it took a few weeks to come in,” said Early. “These replacement keys were costly, and we quickly realized managing physical keys was one of our pain points. Our team was using valuable time that could otherwise be spent addressing more critical property demands.” Early understood their challenges at The Olivia needed quick resolution and partnered with Latch to solve their access management problem.
Unlike a new development, an existing building has occupied units and takes creativity to minimize disruption and ensure a quick and seamless installation. Latch provided a comprehensive six-week deployment timeline, which included what to expect before, during, and after installation for an extensive retrofit project.
Latch quickly delivered to provide the best possible customer experience for the building staff. The Latch Customer Success team onboarded and shared a 360-degree communications toolkit for building staff to learn more about the software and products. In addition, the building staff had one-on-one training with the Latch team to learn about the Latch Manager application and had assistance on hand to answer specific questions.
Brookfield and Latch partnered with an experienced retrofit integrator to install the Latch devices. “Our integrator installed the Latch M within six weeks at The Olivia with minimal disruption to our residents’ daily lives,” said Early. The floor-by-floor deployment focused on pace and quality, and ensured products were installed properly for uninterrupted activation.
The comprehensive six-week deployment timeline also included a custom onboarding approach for residents, and the building staff took the opportunity to include residents at the start of the project. “We wanted our residents to get excited about Latch,” said Early. Residents received a welcome kit on how to use the Latch App for building and unit entry and share access with visitors, and a floor-by-floor schedule of when the integrator would be working. It also included an FAQ with popular user tips and an overview of Latch’s Privacy and Security policy. “Overall, we received positive feedback from residents during this quick installation process and we couldn’t be happier,” said Early.
The success of installing and onboarding building staff and residents within six weeks proved Latch was the right partner for The Olivia. Existing buildings face their own set of challenges because of building infrastructure limitations, but Latch is built to work with any building. This record retrofit deployment directly resulted in lower operating costs and created the convenient and flexible experience that residents expect.
“Latch not only made it easier for resident entry but also for building staff to manage who gets access to what,” said Early. “Sharing access with a click of a button makes our team much more efficient and saves us from the unnecessary costs of managing physical keys. Replacing keys is a thing of the past, and this flexibility opens a new door for us.”
If you’re interested in bringing Latch to your building, contact our Sales team today.
GUIDES
Smart building technology delivers a wide range of financial benefits for multifamily owners and operators. From cost efficiencies to improved customer experience, a strategic investment in the right technology solution can positively impact both the cost and revenue sides of the ledger.
There are several different ways to estimate how smart communities achieve ROI. Learn more about the four most popular approaches in our easy-to-read guides.
