Wallace: When someone closes on a parcel of land and is starting to hire their consultants, it's a really good idea to have a management company—either at that time or shortly thereafter—selected that will help you with feasibility, unit mix, design, amenity programming and marketing of all of those pieces. Some of the things that come up can be as simple as future-proofing your property by building the appropriate building mix that will stand the test of time—not just now, but during the life of the asset—and there are other pieces that can be expensive if not addressed appropriately. It can be especially helpful to have a management company's input on this, from how trash is set up for the community all the way down to amenity location and allocating enough amenity space.

GlobeSt.com: How are these issues handled?

Wallace: You start out with demographics: What's the area currently like? Is it emerging? Is it changing? Marketplaces are always changing. Also, there's predicting who's going to move in there, which employers are coming in and how is their job base, as well as how is that area going to evolve and what are the needs going to be for residents?

I have a 24-month timeline and checklist I go through. Oftentimes, I'll meet with the developer and other consultants such as their architects. I follow the whole pipeline: what offices are being built, what apartments are being built and what's already there, what the personality of neighborhood already is and how you integrate into that and become a part of the fabric of the community. It's very collaborative.

Two things that are critical to developers, especially if they're a small shop, are projecting rent and operating expenses for each project. Usually, those are the main things they want to understand from a management company. What ends up happening is we're part of a lot of other decisions by the developer. We make recommendations, and the developer can pick and choose from those recommendations.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about predevelopment?

Wallace: Sares-Regis is already a great developer and a operator in the West. I would say whoever hires Sares-Regis to manage their communities and help with predevelopment services, they get to draft off all the development and operating knowledge accumulated over the past several decades.

Steady gains in the US economy have resulted in net positives for the multifamily sector—will this wave continue for the foreseeable future? What's driving development and capital flows? Join us at RealShare Apartments on October 19 & 20 for impactful information from the leaders in the National multifamily space. Learn more.

IRVINE, CA—Predicting who the tenants are going to be, which employers are coming in and what infrastructure changes are going to take place in a market before development is extremely helpful for developers, Sares-Regis Group's new SVP, business development, marketing and strategic planning for multifamily in the western region Heather Wallace tells GlobeSt.com. Wallace was previously with Alliance Residential Co., where she held a variety of key positions within operations, acquisitions and development since 2003. In addition to her experience in all facets of marketing and leasing, Wallace is an expert on predevelopment issues, including market research, feasibility and design. We spoke exclusively with her about predevelopment and handling the issues that come up with it.

GlobeSt.com: What do you hope to achieve in your new position?

Wallace: Sares-Regis is a well-regarded company in our industry. One aspect of what I'm going to be doing is business development—they've been working hard on their own projects and with their closest partners for years, but they've never really gone out and sought additional fee business. In our industry, some companies hire a third party to manage properties. I'm going to be setting up that platform. I helped start the business-development platform at my previous company and I will do the same for Sares-Regis. My position oversees the marketing and sales platform for the company.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the most common issues with predevelopment?

Wallace: When someone closes on a parcel of land and is starting to hire their consultants, it's a really good idea to have a management company—either at that time or shortly thereafter—selected that will help you with feasibility, unit mix, design, amenity programming and marketing of all of those pieces. Some of the things that come up can be as simple as future-proofing your property by building the appropriate building mix that will stand the test of time—not just now, but during the life of the asset—and there are other pieces that can be expensive if not addressed appropriately. It can be especially helpful to have a management company's input on this, from how trash is set up for the community all the way down to amenity location and allocating enough amenity space.

GlobeSt.com: How are these issues handled?

Wallace: You start out with demographics: What's the area currently like? Is it emerging? Is it changing? Marketplaces are always changing. Also, there's predicting who's going to move in there, which employers are coming in and how is their job base, as well as how is that area going to evolve and what are the needs going to be for residents?

I have a 24-month timeline and checklist I go through. Oftentimes, I'll meet with the developer and other consultants such as their architects. I follow the whole pipeline: what offices are being built, what apartments are being built and what's already there, what the personality of neighborhood already is and how you integrate into that and become a part of the fabric of the community. It's very collaborative.

Two things that are critical to developers, especially if they're a small shop, are projecting rent and operating expenses for each project. Usually, those are the main things they want to understand from a management company. What ends up happening is we're part of a lot of other decisions by the developer. We make recommendations, and the developer can pick and choose from those recommendations.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about predevelopment?

Wallace: Sares-Regis is already a great developer and a operator in the West. I would say whoever hires Sares-Regis to manage their communities and help with predevelopment services, they get to draft off all the development and operating knowledge accumulated over the past several decades.

Steady gains in the US economy have resulted in net positives for the multifamily sector—will this wave continue for the foreseeable future? What's driving development and capital flows? Join us at RealShare Apartments on October 19 & 20 for impactful information from the leaders in the National multifamily space. Learn more.