Events – Stratalife

Activated communities and placemaking

The rooftop at GWH Aero Apartments all decked out for a birthday party.

When we are involved from the early stages of a development (planning phases into registration/settlement and occupation), we have a role and responsibility in helping that community find its feet and activating the space that we manage. This is somewhat the case when we have the strata management of that community (i.e. a role largely offsite and administration based), versus when we are the building/facility manager – a role which is a daily/weekly in-person interface with the owners.

The view of Broadmeadow Racecourse from the rooftop at GWH Centrale Apartments Broadmeadow.

Modern design principles for apartments and community schemes (at least in Australia) give drive to the creation of a community and giving a building identity. This may include features (e.g. vertical garden, civic art), exclusive common areas (rooftop entertainment areas, gardens), naming the building or facilities (gyms, pools, treatment rooms, BBQ areas, concierge, valet, etc.) and nearby or inhouse retail offerings. Activated communities are safer, more secure and more enjoyable to reside in.

‘nook’ letterboxes – the colour coded theme continues throughout the building and helps make it a unique boutique development for the area.

Unless all of the above is well-considered, facilities may end up poorly utilised and not add value to the community. On the flip-side, beautiful common areas can be an extension of lot living space, allowing room for entertainment, recreation and community activities. These spaces end up being the ‘jewel’ in the crown of a specific development.

Playground and BBQ area with a view at Thirdis beautiful ‘Westend’ development, proudly managed by Cambridge Management Services

We have a wealth of examples of these ‘activated communities’ within our portfolio and in time, we will have great data as to how this drives improved sales values, rental yields and resident happiness.

Views from the Aero rooftop – always changing courtesy of the working harbour

Regardless of facilities, we think that all communities have the ability to take advantage of the density and the ‘just add water’ community that this provides.

Resort facilities at Abian Brisbane by Sunland – we are the Building Manager and concierge at this stunning development

Multi-purpose common room at Pier on Waterfront by Mirvac

We are about to settle on some new developments in the Newcastle region and as part of this, are planning the events we will be undertaking with the residents. In addition to this, we will be suggesting a program of activities to the strata committee that they should consider throughout the year.

These are some of the things we are thinking about doing – in Newcastle we are blessed with generous shared spaces at buildings that lend themselves to these types of activity):

Street parties with surrounding buildings – food vans, music, etc.
BBQs (doesn’t get easier or simpler)
Gardening/plants in smaller spaces and common areas with a horticulturalist
Cooking demonstrations (just need to get Harris Farm to sponsor this one!)
Fitness/yoga/pilates classes
Smart home technology class (HVAC, lighting, etc)
Caring for animals in smaller spaces
Wine tasting with a local winemaker
P0p-up cinema
Markets
Recycling and waste class

The tennis court and playground (pool in the background) at Eagle Reach Highland Park in the Hunter Valley – amazing resort facilities.

Here are some great articles I have read on the topic:

https://www.domain.com.au/news/a-place-to-call-home-placemaking-is-all-the-rage-in-apartment-developments-20160721-gqalb4/

https://urbis.com.au/insights-news/global-trends-in-mixed-use-development-the-new-paradigm-in-urban-placemaking-2/

2.5 hours from Newcastle…

Whilst there’s a wealth of things to do in Newcastle (see my favourite local guide – HUNTERhunter) – it’s also what’s within close reach of Newcastle that makes it so appealing.

For somewhere to be within 2.5 hours is (for me, anyway), the furthest you would want to travel both ways in a day and also the ideal amount of time for a weekend away.

I have sought to showcase some of the best places you can get to driving and flying out of the Hunter region (all of which we have visited in the last year of living here). That’s not to say that you need to leave (particularly during summer), however, everyone enjoys the occasional change of scenery.

Driving

Hunter Valley – Excellent wine country, within 40 minutes of the Newcastle CBD. Great food, accommodation, and leisure options.

Broke – whilst part of the Hunter Valley, Broke is its own destination and nearly 1 hour and 20 minutes away. Stunning properties, boutique wineries and just that little bit less touristy than the Hunter – feels somewhat undiscovered. Check out the A Little Bit of Italy in Broke festival.

Port Stephens – stunning beaches, great accommodation options, improving food and bar scene and recreation options galore.

Port Macquarie – one of my favourite places to visit. Picturesque, uncrowded and becoming that little bit ‘cooler’ with new bar, dining, brewery, coffee options coming to town. It’s very rundown in places but I can see a big revitalisation coming. Make sure to visit Flynn’s Beach, Cassegrain Wines and Whalebone Wharf Restaurant – stunning!

Sydney – Loud, busy, expensive and awesome.

Central Coast – heaps to do, lots of hidden gems. Check out Gosford with its new highrises like Bonython Tower and the stunning Boathouse Patonga. Try an amazing coastal or inland bushwalk.

Lake Macquarie – geez Lake Macquarie is huge. Get on a boat and check it out. There are some amazing and very much unknown pockets and lots of up and coming areas. Go check out Trinity Point and dine at 8 at Trinity Point.

Flying

Newcastle airport destinations and transfers

Flying out of Newcastle is dead-easy and generally cheap. Newcastle airport is one of the fastest-growing airports in Australia – it welcomes over 1.2m passengers each year.

Brisbane (1 hour 10 mins) – short jump away, awesome place for a week or a weekend – just not in the height of summer in 99% humidity. Stay close to the beach in Newcastle

Melbourne (1 hour 40 mins)- I needn’t say anything about Melbourne – it’s very good at blowing it’s own horn.

Gold Coast (1 hour 5 mins) – not for me, but people seem to love it (I’ll be forced to change my mind once I have older children and they want to go to theme parks…) – only a quick jump away.

Canberra (1 hour 10 mins) – apparently its cool these days? Keen to potentially try this flight for the ski season.

Sydney (45 mins) – yes you can fly to Sydney

Byron (fly into Ballina)

Security – what’s next?

Strata Schemes are basically the Luddites of the built environment. Older buildings have very little that is ‘smart’ about them and builders/developers (particularly when it’s a design/construct contract and cheap/cost-effective is the only option) are generally not incentivised to install the latest and greatest technology into buildings.

The current status quo is a shame; there is amazing technology out there and on the way that strata buildings could be taking advantage of, to manage security, control costs, monitor building health and greatly enhance the resident experience.

Yesterday I attended the Australian Security Industry Association Ltd (ASIAL) conference in Darling Harbour, which runs annually and is great to get an insight into what security technology is in the market and what is on the horizon. Thank you to our friends at Quorum Security Systems for the tour.

Some highlights with potential uses for strata buildings/community schemes:

Robot Sentry

Yes – this looks like a Dalek, but that’s kinda the fun of it.

Perfect for checking car parks and large flat outdoor areas, particularly at night. Could take the place of a need for having multiple security guards onsite.

Future potential uses I can see for this technology at buildings include checking plant and equipment is operating properly, administering move-ins, checking by-law breaches, cleaning standards (or doing the cleaning?), etc.

Keys as a service

Not a great photo – but you get the picture!

This is interesting tech – doing away with keys/swipes for entering buildings and using facial recognition to gain entry. This gives much greater security and assists management with knowing who is who in a building, particularly if there is an incident.

Secondly, the days of the intercom as we know it are numbered (along with associated cabling throughout a building).

With some new internet-connected door stations, there is no need for a connection to apartments – the request goes over the internet and to an internet-connected handset, or to a phone/tablet anywhere in the world. This is exciting technology, which will offset capital costs for developers and future owners and give a huge amount of flexibility in granting entry to a building. There are many potential applications for this; getting away from building keys/swipes is the future.

CCTV – Video Analytics

This is pretty amazing tech – watching it in action at ASIAL reminded me of the Will Smith “Enemy of the State” movie (ha – how is that 20 years old!).

The video analytics software now on the market really needs to be seen to be believed. Instead of someone needing to spend hours reviewing footage, potentially on multiple cameras – the analytics behind it can be used to pick up all instances of a person or a thing occurring (e.g. a package being on a table and) and it will continue to drill down based on the information you give it.

Obviously, the concern here from a residential perspective is privacy concerns, however, used properly and within defined boundaries – this could serve to greatly increase security and augment the ability to manage buildings.

Garage Entry

The future is Number-plate recognition or RFID windshield tags.

This technology is now hugely reliable and more cost-effective than your average sensor/remote system.

Number-plate recognition would be my choice, given the flexibility of controlling visitors parking and also having all cars in a database. Anything that helps with the dreaded visitors parking! There is a degree of management involved with such a system (which should be minimal after a building is settled given residents don’t change that often), but once established it should be no harder than programming and issuing passes/remotes and can be done remotely, in an instant.

RFID window tags are great as they are very cheap (about $6 versus a remote costing $50+). These can also be administered remotely, however, a physical tag must be issued in the first instance.

I look forward to sharing these insights with owners and developers – we can’t be far away from seeing this technology as standard in new buildings. Access control and a basic CCTV system doesn’t cut it anymore!

2019 SCA National Conference – recap

It was an excellent Strata Community Association national conference in Auckland – I am still recovering from it (in a few senses) a week and a bit later, which is why the delay in posting.

Here’s my top 10 from the week

Bright & Duggan winning the National Strata Manager of the Year award (along with Strata Data). Well deserved accolade, reflecting the hard work of Bright & Duggan and Cambridge, across the Eastern seaboard.

Bright & Duggan winning National Strata Manger of the year 2019 – Chris Duggan accepting the award.

2. Clare Stuart of Bright & Duggan QLD winning the SCA Community Manager of the Year – Rising Star award.

Congratulations also to Cambridge Victoria for their nominations for Strata Community Management Business of the Year – Small and Briana Edgecombe for her nomination for Support Team member of the Year.

Clare Stuart of Bright & Duggan Queensland winning the strata community manager of the year rising star

3. Sir Bob Parker presenting the keynote on providing reassurance in times of need. Very chilling videos and photos of the Christchurch earthquakes.

What Christchurch experienced during that time certainly gives context to how bad times can be, for factors completely beyond your control.

4. Tuesday night welcome event at the Auckland war memorial and an awesome dinner afterwards with colleagues at Baduzzi – must visit if in Auckland.

5. The Impact of Design and Development – Matt Davis from Davis and Davis Architects. Whilst the keynote was quite winded, it was incredibly interesting as I move professionally into wanting to understand how buildings function for the benefit of their occupants. Did you know that design is only 0.5% of the cost of a building’s lifecycle, and operating costs 85%?

6. Getting some exercise in with colleagues and commuting to and from the venue on a lime scooter – lots of fun. Must bring these to Newcastle!

7. Sustainability presentation from City of Sydney. I have been big on sustainability and efficiency for strata schemes for many years – the topic is now a very mature one and front of mind given the introduction of NABERS ratings in the residential space.

It’s less efficient to live in an apartment than a house, which should not be the case.

More green walls and solar please!

Check out this cool article I read yesterday about green walls.

8. Macquarie benchmarking data presentation. The data has been out for a few months but it was good to digest again to understand where we sit as a business versus competitors and where we should push towards.

Attracting, retaining and continually engaging great staff is key – what’s the point in growing a business if you can’t do those things?

Also interesting is the push towards diversified revenues. Strata management companies shouldn’t be in business if they’re only profitable due to disbursements and insurance commissions.

9. Sharing times and a few drinks with friends from NSW and interstate and meeting a number of other industry stakeholders.

10. Getting a better understanding of where we sit as a business versus the industry – Bright & Duggan is a great business (and this is now nationally recognised), but constantly reflects on the way it treats its staff and serves its clients. These two factors are far more key to profitability than bringing on new business or slashing costs.

See you in 2020 (maybe at Griffith too)!

2019 SCA National Conference – next week!

I can’t wait to head to Auckland next week for the Strata Community Association (SCA) national conference. It’s an action-packed week and a chance to reflect on what we’re doing well and what we can ‘be better’ at (Bright & Duggan’s new leading value).

I have been fortunate enough to attend the last two national conferences and I think this will be the best one yet – not least because it involves a trip over the ditch. I am very excited to be joined by my wife Kylie and daughter Thea, who will make their own fun whilst I am conferencing.

I am looking forward to:

Seeing and meeting a number of our interstate friends and business partners (along with more local ones I have barely seen since a move to the Hunter and starting a family).
Events at the Auckland War Memorial and the Viaduct.
Bright & Duggan NSW (or Cambridge Management Services QLD) winning the Large Strata Community Management Business of the Year award at the gala awards (high confidence – 2/5 chance!), along with three other awards our business/staff are in the running for.
Zipping around Auckland on a Lime Scooter.

The conference program is excellent and I’m picking the following sessions as the stars:

Macquarie strata Benchmarking report insights.
Panel – challenging times for strata managers (featuring our own Chris Duggan).
Panel – driving the building defects agenda. I believe that Bright & Duggan leads the market with our approach to defects, which seeks to bring the various parties together for non-litigated outcomes.
Providing reassurance during a time of need – presented by Sir Bob Parker, the mayor for Christchurch during the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
Why utility management is critical for strata managers – I am a big believer that data drives better decision making (or removes a need for decision making in some cases as it presents such a compelling argument). Also moderated by Mr C Duggan.
Panel – building a career in strata. I don’t believe (as an industry) that we do an amazing job at attracting and retaining people; concentrating on how we improve at this is vital to long term business success and recognition as a profession.
Panel – The right amount of business growth, moderated by our fearless leader Chris Duggan.
Keynote – The impact of design and development, presented by Matt Davis from Davis and Davis Architects

I am particularly interested in speaking to people about a blended strata/facility management approach (asset/governance/finances)- I believe this is where the market is going and it’s an area that Bright & Duggan/Cambridge Management Services will lead – particularly in the Hunter!

If you’re going – look forward to catching up there.

Stay tuned for a recap of the event after I catch my breath the week following.