The New York Times

Breaking the Ice, by Design

February 10, 2010
By Antoinette Martin

EARLIER this month, the W Hoboken Hotel and condominium tower offered itself as a host location for a speed-dating event that drew almost 400 would-be sweethearts — a number to be recorded by Guinness World Records, according to its organizers.

The record is for size of a speed-dating event. But if there were a category for, say, Best Use of Real Estate to Promote Matchmaking, or Most Creative Use of Amenities to Foster Relationships, the event would no doubt be a contender, too.

Although not necessarily a shoo-in. These days, it seems that all sorts of residential complexes are being designed so that relationship-building is more or less part of the infrastructure.

"Everything at the Saffron is set up to foster a sense of community," said James Caulfield, whose company, the Fields Development Group, recently opened a 76-unit condominium complex by that name in Jersey City that is attracting mostly young and single residents. "That could mean romance, or simply friendships," Mr. Caulfield said, "but we want to allow people to take part in each other’s lives, and have a sense of neighborhood, and being at home, when they walk in the door."

The Saffron not only has a central courtyard with benches, for casual mingling, but also a top-floor community room that includes extra-large washers and dryers. "We encourage residents to go up there to do weekend loads that may be too bulky for the smaller units in their apartments," Mr. Caulfield said, "and they can just hang out there."

The community area opens to a rooftop deck, and it also offers several shower stalls for use after sunbathing.

These amenities can serve as ice-breakers even for shy people, Mr. Caulfield said, echoing managers at some other properties. "Sometimes we have single people who come to the open houses with their parents, and then when they move in, it’s like they’re being dropped off all alone at college," he said. "But we’ve seen it over and over: people might keep to themselves for a while, but if just one person catches their eye, and says, ‘Oh, hi, I live in No. 321,’ it is the start of people feeling at home."

At the three New Jersey extended-stay communities known as AVE, which offer furnished and unfurnished apartments with hotel-style service, most of the residents move in at "flux points" in their lives, said Lea Ann Welsh, the president at Korman Communities. Because of that, she said, the goal is never to have people feel they have to enter a room alone if they don’t want to.

Ms. Welsh, who developed the AVE concept for Korman Communities, and oversees the communities in West Orange, Clifton and Somerset, said she sometimes personally escorted new residents who might be feeling a “little shaky” into the weekly Friday night reception or the monthly themed dinner party at the communities.

"Often," she said, “people come to us who are in fragile situations — many of them just divorced, or maybe just transferred here for work, in a place where they don’t know anyone, and it’s certainly going to be less uncomfortable if they are greeted warmly by our staff."

Once they do get comfortable, the “romance bug” bites quite a few, she said — including a man and woman at the Clifton AVE, who recently started seeing each other after, well, seeing each other at the gym, beside the pool, at the cafe where breakfasts are served and at the laptops in the business center.

"We had a lot of relationships that get taken to the next level," Ms. Welsh said, meaning that two one-bedroom types are sometimes known to move into a two-bedroom place together. She spoke of a couple who met several years ago at the Somerset AVE after he was transferred by a large financial firm to work in Manhattan, and met her, recently divorced and living there with two children.

The couple are now married and have built their own home, Ms. Welsh said. Ronald S. Ladell, the vice president for development at AvalonBay Communities, another developer of “relationship-building” rental communities, acknowledged, "It certainly isn’t like it was when I rented in New Jersey 30 years ago," adding: "That was the day of two-story brick garden apartments. I never knew my neighbors’ names — never mind taking a walk, or breaking bread together."

Today, he said, the most popular places for people to meet or mingle at AvalonBay’s various suburban complexes around the state are at the dog runs, which offer benches for the humans — or else the outdoor “cucina” cooking areas and rooftop decks.

"Suburban people want the ability to interact with each other just like urban people do," Mr. Ladell said, "and we try to provide the facilities for that." AvalonBay has woodsy complexes in Lawrenceville and Tinton Falls, among other suburban communities, and is building a 180-unit complex in West Long Branch, near the Jersey Shore.

At the Jefferson, a modestly priced condo complex developed by American Properties Realty in the Princeton suburb of Ewing, Stefanie Soden and Steve Neuhof, both 27, moved in together last summer — but said they had chosen the building because it offered the chance to feel "rapport" with other residents.

They often meet people when walking their beagles on the wooded paths, Mr. Neuhof said.

O’Ryan and Sarai Goring, another couple at the Jefferson, said they attended a gathering for new homeowners at the community’s clubhouse and were delighted to fall into "instant friendships" with several other young couples. They made plans for future get-togethers at one another’s apartments.

The Record

Social interaction a great housewarming

Sunday, January 10, 2010
BY Donna Rolando

Smiles and handshakes can do as much as a fresh coat of paint to make you want to stay in an apartment or condo.

The great room at AVE by Korman Communities, an apartment community in Clifton.
PHOTOS BY NICK BRANDRETH/SPECIAL TO THE HERALD NEWS

That's because smiles and handshakes are simple but powerful tools for meeting neighbors and making new friends in a community — we're less likely to want to move from our friends.

"It's always good to introduce yourself whether face to face or with a friendly note," said Tammy Kotula, spokeswoman for Apartments.com, about what works to break the ice in a new home.

"If you have a hard time approaching people, it's good to get in the habit of smiling more," she said.

At the same time, steer clear of things that irritate neighbors, especially noise. Even vacuuming at odd hours can be an irritant, she said. Check the lease for guidance on hours for parties and other noisemaking activities.

Becoming a regular at your apartment or condo gym is another way to get to know people, Kotula said.

"A lot of professionally managed buildings do meet-and-greets and happy hours, so definitely take advantage of these opportunities," she added. "You don't want to come across as too threatening," perhaps with an overly-eager attitude, she warned.

The friendship factor is something that the founders of AVE by Korman Communities took into account in designing the Clifton rental site, with features like a great room where residents can mingle, the in-house movie theater, or the cafe where hot drinks are served throughout the day.

"We have these great common spaces that encourage residents to come down and socialize outside their specific residences," said Lea Anne Welsh, president of AVE by Korman Communities. "We design our communities on creating space and amenities that residents can come and gather around," she said.

The fitness center is one of those gathering spots, bringing people together with common interests and for classes such as Pilates and yoga.

When it comes to working out, she said, "most people have routines, and just by the nature of people, they start chit-chatting."

It's also part of the job for AVE's team leaders to "promote social interaction" and bring people together over Scrabble, trivia games and other activities.

"We take an active approach in the process. We want people to feel at home," Welsh said.

Welsh said that everyday activities, like getting the mail or waiting for an elevator, also can be opportunities to get to know your neighbor.

At active adult communities such as K. Hovnanian's Four Seasons at Great Notch, clubhouses bring people together and are "one of the main reasons people choose that lifestyle," said spokesman Douglas Fenichel. The facilities, such as the swimming pool, fitness centers, card rooms, tennis courts and whatnot, create a place where people can go to do the things they like doing and meet others who enjoy the same pastimes. An activities director coordinates different clubs and events that also help residents to broaden their horizons and mingle, he added.

But residents can also take the initiative when it comes to meeting neighbors. At their Hoboken apartment, Ed Cunning, vice president of Park Lane Communications in New York City, hosted several small cocktail parties with his wife to get to know the neighbors. Now that they live in a Port Monmouth town house, he said, "We continue to mingle and meet our neighbors by hosting small get-togethers. We are certainly looking forward to taking advantage of the pool and exercise facilities to meet even more people during the summer."

The Record

Renters look for space to exercise

November 29, 2009
by Donna Rolando

If you want to stick like glue to your excuses for not exercising, don't read this article. Especially don't continue reading if your primary excuse for not lifting a dumbbell is that your apartment is too small.

Exercise pros say there is no one road for renters to get in shape.

Regardless of whether you live in a luxury apartment complex with its own gym or a less expensive place where space is limited, you can still lose the pounds — if you lose the excuses.

The trick is to get motivated, designate a workout area, and think outside the box for exercises that don't count on lots of jumping or clunky gear.

* In a small apartment

"I don't think people think they can't work out in an apartment. I think they don't know what to do," said Adam Campbell, fitness director for Men's Health and author of "Big Book of Exercises." "The truth is you really don't need any equipment to get a total body workout. There are tons of ways to make any exercise more difficult," he said.

"Body weight training is one of the best things you can do in your apartment with no equipment," said Roderick Lapid, a personal trainer in northern New Jersey who goes to homes, including apartments, to pump up exercise routines.

He directs renters to push-ups, crunches and Pilates, all well-suited for a roll-up exercise mat. "Yoga is great," he said.

To beef up the intensity of a workout, try handstands, inverted push-ups and even walking on your hands, he said.

Dumbbells and especially kettle bells take up little space and can add intensity to traditional exercises like squats. A stability ball fits right in the closet. Also ideal for small spaces are stackable power blocks as well as suspension straps, which require only a door.

Out of courtesy to neighbors, small-apartment dwellers are likely to have to forgo aerobics, but they still need cardio.

"You need to get the heart rate going," said Lapid, who likes the kettle bells for combined benefits of strength and heart-rate training.

Get creative in designating your exercise setting. Even if it's a corner, he said, "leave a yoga mat laid out and have your exercise tools available."

With any form of exercise, he advised that one should focus on a goal and ask, "Am I getting what I want out of this?"

Hoboken resident Jeff Thomsen, president of Fitness Solutions Direct, said: "You can find different workouts to try online or in magazines. Bottom line is if you have space and some sort of resistance you can put yourself through a great workout."

John Rowley of The American Institute of Healthcare and Fitness, said it's key to "work every body part even in the tightest studio apartment. You can also take your dumbbells into the staircase and take every other step for a lunge effort that will work your legs and buttocks while doing cardio. Time effective and space efficient."

* When a fitness center is nearby:

…

At AVE by Korman Communities in Clifton, much thought went into designing a gym where renters would really want to work out, said president Lea Anne Welsh. This gym has a cardio room overlooking the pool and a strength-training room with a view of the tranquility garden, both from 18-foot-tall windows. The high ceilings were designed to energize residents as they enter the gym, Welsh explained.

Personal training and massage therapy are available here just like at a health club. And if it seems like AVE employees are promoting fitness to the tenants, they are.

"We want people to take advantage of everything," Welsh said. "They'll be more likely to stay and not move out if their workout buddy is a floor away. It helps to create a sense of community."

If you have such a fitness center, Rowley said, "The whole key to maximizing your workout in a fitness center at an apartment complex is to have a plan of action."

And, of course, leave those excuses behind.

Philadelphia Business Journal

Korman kicks off $300M expansion

December 12, 2008
By Natalie Kostelni

Korman Communities Inc., which sat on the sidelines for the last year and a half, is poised to make some real estate grabs next year - spending more than $300 million - to expand its three residential real estate divisions.

The move comes as the company decided to re-brand two of its lines of business to better distinguish itself from competition and solidify its position in the Middle Atlantic States and the Northeast. This comes after the company established a new division last year called "AKA" that caters to clientele who want to stay in luxury accommodations in major cities. It was Korman’s way to try to capture a niche that five-star hotels offer on an overnight basis but instead offer it on an extended basis - be it a week or a month.

Now the Plymouth Meeting real estate company has formed a new division based on its existing and growing portfolio of midrise and garden apartment complexes in the suburbs called “AVE” and plans a big marketing push of the brand. It will eventually roll out "ARK," which focuses on its original Korman Suites apartment properties, some dating back to the 1950s.

The branding effort highlights how a real estate company that is entering its 100th year of business has evolved and stayed above the fray at a time when many highly leveraged commercial builders are retrenching, with some even faltering, as they cope with a dearth of available credit.

In the first part of last year, the private company completed $624 million in deals between acquisitions and sales and then pulled back. Its financial partners, pension fund advisers and investment management firms supported the move.

"We stopped buying in the middle of 2007 and we were purposefully quiet all of 2008," said Brad Korman, who serves as co-president of the company with his brother Larry Korman. "Frankly, we thought prices we too high. We went to the sidelines to basically focus on operations."

Times have changed and the company is set to seize upon some good deals. "We think there will be a lot of opportunities for us in 2009," Korman said. "We don’t know where the opportunities will be, but we think it will be in all segments."

Korman is ready to spend $200 million to $300 million buying up to five properties in Philadelphia, Washington, New York and New Jersey. For example, Brad Korman anticipates finding some steals among stalled condominium projects in urban areas that may go for 60 cents on the dollar and fold them into the AKA brand. The company also is conservative about its transactions, leveraging between 60 percent to 65 percent on a deal.

Korman was founded in 1909 by Hyman Korman, who mostly did residential construction in the region. His grandson, Steven Korman, developed the concept of Korman Suites in an apartment building along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that is now an Embassy Suites. Slow to rent the pie-shaped apartments, Steven Korman decided to furnish one as an example of how the unit might look. Then someone wanted to rent the furnished apartment for a few months but not as long as a year.

"All of a sudden it hit him that there was a need for a whole realm of lodging for someone who needed a place for six months," said Brad Korman about his father Steven.

At that point, the Korman Suites concept took off. In the mid-1980s, Brad and Larry Korman joined the family business, expanding its footprint into Atlanta, Washington, Delaware and Raleigh, N.C. About four years ago, the company decided to exit the Southeast and focus on the mid-Atlantic area and Northeast Corridor, where it’s more difficult to build new apartments but allows the company to find ways to stand out from the competition. One way of doing that was to create these brands and invest heavily in new and existing properties to ensure the real estate and brand were in synch.

For example, at an existing 264-unit community off Route 30 in Malvern, it spent $6 million on a complete overhaul to the property that was built in 1996. This summer, it completed an $80 million project in Union, N.J., and is completing the construction of a $70 million development in Dulles, Va.

AVE properties are in suburban locations near corporate centers, major arteries or transit stops, shopping and restaurants. However, the style is anything but suburban. "The AVE collection is chic, modern, hip yet warm and comfortable," said Lea Anne Welsh, president of the AVE division. "You feel like you’re in a suburban W Hotel."

Korman will next focus on its ARK division. This older portfolio consists of garden apartments that have a smaller percentage, usually between 10 percent and 20 percent, that are furnished. The properties, typically in established neighborhoods, are geared toward traditional renters who sign year-long leases.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2008/12/15/story4.html

The New York Times
In the Region | New Jersey

The Divorced Find a Housing Niche

December 14, 2008
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN

DIVORCED last March after a 15-year marriage, with three children and a job that requires extensive travel, David Hess said, “I suddenly didn’t know what to do with myself, in terms of where to live.”

He knew that he wanted a place where his children, 16, 13, and 11, would feel at home on weekends, and that it should be near their mother’s house in suburban Morris County. But given his work schedule, he said, maintaining his own single-family house seemed out of the question.

Mr. Hess, 47, looked at apartments — both rental and condominium — but found none were set up to be both “homey” and “comfortable for someone who travels constantly.”

He did not really consider a hotel, or even an extended-stay hotel, Mr. Hess said, because that would be a “place to stay, but not a place to live.”

In the end, he found his niche by moving into a new type of housing that is itself beginning to find a niche, particularly among divorced parents like him, according to its developers at Korman Communities.

The AVE complex in Union where Mr. Hess has resided since it opened in July is one of six, all close to mass transit centers. Three are in New Jersey, two are in Pennsylvania, and one has just been completed near a planned Metro stop in Dulles, Va.

The AVE complexes differ from extended-stay residences in that they offer both luxury hotel-style service and rental units, furnished and unfurnished, with condo-style amenities. A tenant can sign a lease for any time period 30 days or longer, and move in within 48 hours.

Furnished units at the midrise AVE complexes — the other two New Jersey sites are Clifton and Somerset — are leased on a monthly basis, for daily rates starting at $145. Most takers are corporate travelers and business people, either working on long-term projects or being relocated, said Lea Anne Welsh, who developed the AVE brand for Korman.

“It is the same idea as an extended-stay hotel,” she offered, “although we think this provides a much nicer situation, because of the amenities and services.”

But it is the unfurnished units — leased for a minimum of six months, and ordinarily a year — that are emerging as a “hybrid” housing alternative, Ms. Welsh said. Set off in separate wings, and offering weekly social events for residents, in addition to the AVE concierge services, free cafe breakfast and fitness center access, they are evolving into small “neighborhoods,” as Ms. Welsh put it.

“That alternative seems to appeal really strongly to the divorced-dad/executive group,” she said, “and some divorced moms, too.” Dozens of no-longer-married adults, many of them with children, have signed leases for a year’s term or longer at each of the complexes, she said; divorced fathers account for about 25 percent of all tenants at the 785 units in New Jersey, and 508 in Pennsylvania.

Korman did not precisely set out to capture the divorced-person market, Ms. Welsh explained. “But we did realize that our concept offering flexibility, style and services was likely to appeal to that group.”

Also, she said, the company had expected that locations in suburban communities close to major urban centers would appeal to “people in transition, who want to stay close to family” — and its expectations have been borne out.

Mr. Hess, for example, says he is thrilled that his children have only a 10-minute train ride between his home and their mother’s in an adjoining community.

George Carrara, who has lived in the 238-unit Clifton AVE on Passaic Avenue since April 2007, describes himself as “one of the divorced legions.”

“I don’t have kids myself,” he said, “but I am Sicilian, so I have a tight-knit family, and they come to visit often.”

Mr. Carrara, who is a vice president of the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, described the Clifton site as ideal for him because it provides easy access to the company’s showrooms in Manhattan and its distribution center in Cranbury.

“Clifton!” he said. “Who would have thought? Two minutes off the highway, and during the summer, out by the pool, you’d swear you’re in Bermuda.”

Lights that change colors at the push of a button are built into the pool deck; in the summer, vine arbors and tropical plantings are installed, Ms. Welsh said. The Clifton complex also has a large “tranquillity courtyard,” set beside its yoga center.

On the professional side, the AVE complexes offer business centers with banks of computers, and fully wired conference rooms, where Mr. Carrara said he sometimes conducts meetings.

The resort hotel/neighborhood/executive suite ambience is not for the faint-of-wallet, of course.

Danielle Mayville, whose two daughters reside with her during the week (doing their homework in the business center and watching films in the movie theater), said: “The price is high. It definitely is. But to me, it is so all-inclusive, it is worth it.”

Ms. Mayville, the manager of the Movado boutique at the Mall at Short Hills, leases a two-bedroom two-bath unfurnished suite in Clifton. The price range for such units is $2,595 to $3,330 a month, when leased on a yearly basis. A two-bedroom unit with a study goes for $3,600 a month. One-bedrooms start at $1,995 per month and go up to $2,550.

By contrast, a one-bedroom furnished suite costs $145 to $165 a day, if rented for a month. For a two-bedroom two-bath suite with a direct view of the New York City skyline, the rate is $295 to $395 per day.

Ms. Welsh said the overall economic slump was hurting AVE business “a bit,” but not substantially so far. “In some cases,” she said, “companies are moving people who don’t want to be moved, and maybe trying to cushion the blow by giving them the experience of living at AVE.”

Ms. Welsh says AVE’s employees have come to recognize the signs of a new tenant in the throes of a divorce, and they strive to accommodate “distress or disorientation.”

Some tenants arrive asking about privacy and safety, first and foremost, and not yet ready to gravitate to the social gatherings in the cafe area. “We watch over them, ask how things are going, ask if there is anything they need in their apartments — a blender? Extra pillows and blankets for visitors?”

“Eventually,” Ms. Welsh said, “it seems that everyone settles in to the ‘neighborhood.’ ”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/realestate/14njzo.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=AVE%20korman&st=cse

 

Continental Magazine

Where the Living Is Easy

October, 2008

Is it a hotel? An apartment complex? Ask Lea Anne Welsh, a vice president at Korman Communities, which niche her company fits into and she answers, “We are a hybrid. We stand between a hotel and an apartment complex in what we offer business travelers.” Specifically, that means well-furnished housing, in North Jersey. Korman operates a brand-new housing community in Union (“it’s three and a half miles from Newark Airport,” says Welsh) and another complex in Clifton, five miles from the Meadowlands.

“We take care of the details for our residents. We say we are about life meeting style for business travelers seeking long-term-stay accommodations,” adds Welsh, who elaborates that Korman provides fully furnished apartments plus a range of resident services that can rival what a hotel concierge delivers. Welsh offers this for-instance: in the lobby there’s always fresh-brewed Starbucks coffee and Tazo tea. A typical Korman resident stays 60 to 90 days, she says, and costs start around $120 per day. kormancommunities.com

Source: http://magazine.continental.com/content5440