.png){kind=small}
The Asset Management Committee is now known as the “Business and Marketing Strategy Committee” with a renewed commitment to a comprehensive approach of property and asset management. The committee will keep our peers up to date and educated on current market trends, both within the local real estate and global markets. Our collaboration will help members make informed and profitable decisions for their assets and their careers.
We sat down with Business and Marketing Strategy Committee Co-Chair, Christa Collier to discuss the committee’s evolution. Check out the four questions and answers here.
Please explain the reason for the new committee name and how the Business and Marketing Strategy Committee intends to add value to the local CRE industry.
Historically in real estate, Property Management and Asset Management have considered themselves very separate from each other. Not polarized in any way, just operating on two different levels of real estate when it comes to responsibility and financial reporting. That line of separation is beginning to blur. Property managers are taking on more in terms of financial reporting, and asset managers are learning how the day to day operations and customer/tenant focus should inform their models. We could go into a long analysis of how technology has allowed property managers to decrease their constant focus from mechanical and systems issues; or how the louder and stronger tenant voice (especially after COVID) has required asset managers to shift their attention onto the daily needs of their revenue source, rather than focusing solely on the macrocosm that is transactions and deal-making. Suffice it to say, property management and asset management are working more closely than ever these days, and that is a shift we wanted to embrace and encourage at BOMA NY.
By renaming the committee, it takes away that lingering stigmatism and opens up the committee up to any and all who focus on market shifts and trends in order to run an asset successfully. That should pertain to asset management and property management professionals alike. It should pertain to developers and project managers; vendors and consultants. As an industry, we need to stay on top of how successful real estate owners and managers are positioning themselves to meet market needs – both locally and globally. This Business and Marketing Strategy Committee intends to be at the forefront of those strategies, as BOMA NY typically is, thereby adding real value to the industry.
Why did you initially join this committee and what type of members would you like to see join?
I transitioned from property management into asset management back in 2021. However, what many don’t know is that my asset management position is deeply tied to property management responsibilities, with a focus on large scale business planning. It has been a privilege for me to develop a hybrid property/asset management role, and I see this comprehensive approach becoming more and more mainstream. I joined this committee because I believe in the full picture approach. We are looking for members who understand that running a property should be more proactive than reactive. We are looking for members who know what codes and regulations are coming down the pipeline and want to discuss how to handle them well before their deadlines. We want members who look at what the East is doing in terms of development and who want to actively strategize as to how we can push forward here. Mostly, we want members who tend to always think we’re in an exciting time in real estate because every problem might lead to innovative and incredible solutions.
What specifically excites you most about the CRE industry today?
In two words, tenant wellness. When I started in real estate as a Tenant Coordinator, I had a very different outlook as to how conflicts and concerns with tenants should be approached than most people who had been in the industry for 20+ years. I was told, many times, “this is how it is”, or “no, no—you’re the Landlord, this is how we handle this”. And, even though it showed my inexperience, I couldn’t help but vocalize that handling conflicts as a rigid landlord didn’t seem to be effective any longer.
During the last few years of change, and present day market conditions, the landlord community has had to really step up in our hospitality endeavors and almost theatrical solutions. I have found this evolution to be extremely exciting. While I recognize that there are people within the industry that miss the days of running buildings without question or challenge, I look at how innovating real estate can be when we collaborate with the tenant to build incredible and ingenious spaces. I am excited about the new heights we can achieve together when we strive to make the workplace frictionless, versus standard and purely functional.
I encourage everyone to listen to your TC’s and talk to your tenants and realize how exciting it is that we have the technology to affect change and realize mutual progress.
Have you implemented a new solution to reduce CO2 within your portfolio?
I have not, but my days are coming. I have done a great deal of research on this topic, given there are new developments almost daily. The commitment to carbon neutrality ties back to needing a real understanding of and staying up-to-date with what is occurring in global markets. To date, the United States is behind in our collective decarbonization efforts. Having said that, beyond LL97, this will become the focus for the next 25-50 years. The best people to speak to on this topic, in my humble opinion, would be CodeGreen and Google, both of whom are BOMA NY members and frontrunners for solutions in this market. We are all going to have to play a lot of catch up, intelligent catch-up, due to extreme costs and measures, but catch-up nonetheless.
