Lennar Multifamily is developing a spectacular mixed-use property on the site of the old Sherwin Williams factory in Emeryville, California. This 8-acre project will deliver office, retail and more than 500 rental homes to this small community, bordered by Berkeley, Oakland, and the San Francisco Bay.

The project is in a walkable location along a major bike thoroughfare. The project is even slated to house a fleet of shareable bikes and a bike repair facility. It retains a historical building facade, while showing two other design styles.The project will provide a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, and 15% of its units are 3-bedroom, which are meant to entice families to make homes in Emeryville. 

Aaron Nygard, one of our field engineers in Northern California, recently completed a project walk-through and was accompanied by a RealtyCom colleague who asked about the major project tasks that Aaron performs at a construction site.

1. Reviews the key areas of the low voltage plan with service providers, such as conduit plan from pickup point to MPOE Room, MPOE Room to IDFs conduit plan, MPOE Room size and layout, IDF Closet […]
   

Cellular connectivity is an important driver of apartment resident (dis-) satisfaction. Every modern developer has stories of prospects walking out of a tour when their cell phones don’t connect at acceptable speeds. For residents who are streaming entertainment, working from home and staying connected with loved ones, reliable and strong wireless cellular connections are crucial for living spaces in our constantly connected world.

Three possible solutions to poor cellular reception include:

• Promoting wifi calling as a user-based solution inside their home;
• Installing a Distributed Antenna System solution as an overlay to existing building systems;
• Offloading all cellular signals onto a managed wifi network solution like Google’s new Orion program.

DAS (Distributed Antenna System) is a network of small antennas strategically placed where connectivity is weak throughout a building to amplify cellular coverage. DAS receives cellular coverage directly from service carriers and can support a variety of mobile phone providers across the nation. Caveats to DAS systems include the (unbudgeted) capital cost, and the vagaries of the originating cellular signal. If the external signal is weak, generally speaking, a DAS can’t improve a nonexistent signal.

Wifi calling may be the simplest option if the problem is not systemic and the residents have modern smartphones, […]