By Deborah Hoffman

It seems that everybody loves gyms. Tenants love having them in their apartment buildings because on-site, they are a convenient place to work out while watching your favorite show on usually one of the many TVs available to distract and entertain. Owners and Property Managers love gyms because during pre-leasing, they help seal the deal and increase the cap rate of the building.

There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to bring this attractive amenity to market. Knowing the needs of the prospective customers and timing are both important. Knowing the moving parts and Project Management challenges – like wiring infrastructure (Owner and Provider side) and Contractor logistics – are the details that lead to success.

Meeting with the Client and the selected Fitness Vendor is key to understanding the necessary equipment requirements and is the first step to a successful installation. At RealtyCom, we support the Owner in reviewing the various interlocking scopes/logistics required by Audiovisual (AV), Internet Technology (IT), and Low Voltage (LV) Subcontractors. Here’s how it breaks down:

• Assessing needs. Today’s gym is aspirational. It’s equipped with multiple treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and stepmills equipped with screens with pre-programmed and even live routines; some, if not […]
  

By Aaron Nygard

As RealtyCom’s Field Engineer for new construction MDU (multi-dwelling unit) projects in the Northern California region, I manage the telecom infrastructure construction coordination between various service providers. These projects have an average duration of two years, from the time of first engagement with the telecom aspects to the completion of telecom services for the residential units.

One of the challenges that directly impacts these projects is employee turnover (ET) at the organizations I work with. As one can imagine, that kind of ET can have its effect on projects like mine. It’s possible to have one or more of my key construction contacts be part of the employee turnover process.

The notice can be amazingly short – for example, finding out about my contact has moved on when their email bounces back or a message informs me that they are no longer with the company! I have also showed up at a job site and asked to meet my contact, only to be informed that they are no longer employed by the company; and informed on a monthly client call for a particular project that there has been a change in personnel so “please update your contact information.”

According to the […]

By Kelly Larsen

With most of our regular conferences and networking activities cancelled, we are keeping up with the latest trends and attending events via Zoom meetings and webinars, and of course doing lots of reading!  We thought we’d share some of what we’re reading lately.

5G – A lot of education on this topic is coming from industry partners and attorneys who are working with Carriers in this space. However, this is one of the most comprehensive summaries we have seen about what 5G is, what it can do, and concerns and challenges to deployment in the future: The Brew’s Guide to 5G

Smart Tech Regulation – An interesting review of the various legislative issues, policymaking and new privacy laws that Owner/Operators will need to address now and in the near future to implement their smart home and IoT strategies: Prop Tech in the United States: Where We’re Heading

Video Conferencing – While we’ve been doing a lot of this lately, there are so many tools and tricks of the trade. Here’s some […]