feature
In the Spolight
by Emily Landes
SFAA recently honored the best of the rental housing industry with a lavish dinner and awards ceremony at the Palace Hotel. Trophy Award participants were nominated by SFAA members, employers, friends (or even themselves). Each nominee was then sent a packet containing some specific questions. Nominees were encouraged to answer these questions fully and invited to include documents and other materials that might enhance their chances of winning. Judges carefully reviewed these submissions, selected finalists and then had the difficult task of choosing the winner in each category. The names of the winners were then sealed in envelopes that remained unopened until the event.
Once again, SFAA is very proud of its Trophy winners, some of whom are well-known multiple winners from previous years and some of whom received their first awards this year. Read on to learn a bit more about these accomplished and well-respected members of our industry.
Property Management Company of the Year (1-500 Units): Property Management Systems
This is the second year that Property Management Systems has won in this category. Founder Michelle Horneff-Cohen says that the company will step out of the running next year so that other deserving firms can have a chance. Instead, the company will submit individual nominations for other categories.
Horneff-Cohen believes that her staff’s close relationship with their clients gave the company the edge this year. “I think our philosophy of partnering with our clients gives us an advantage and puts our clients at ease; we treat their investment as if it were our own,” she says.
Property Management Company of the Year (500-plus units): Parkmerced
With more than 3,000 apartments spread out over 150 acres, Parkmerced is a lot to manage. So it’s no wonder the community took home the large-scale Property Management Company of the Year award.
But simply “managing” the massive property isn’t enough, says General Manager DiDi MacDonald. Instead, the staff at Parkmerced is always looking to raise the bar. “We are proud of the innovative systems that have been rolled
out over the past year that encourage unparalleled service to our 8,000 residents and provide transparent metrics that measure performance and level of satisfaction,” she says. And the results are obvious, based on the many positive testimonials residents have posted on the community’s website: www.parkmerced.com.
Resident Manager of the Year: Ed Milestone, Lightner Property Group
For Ed Milestone, reading the wonderful comments that his tenants and vendors submitted on his behalf was as good as winning the award. That being said, it’s nice to be a winner, too. “It meant that hard work does have its rewards,” relays Milestone, who manages a 1927 classic San Francisco apartment building with his wife, Therese.
Some of that hard work involved renovating almost 20 units over the past seven years, including a recent green-minded renovation that improved the heating system so that it won’t waste energy during warm weather. “This feature has improved the comfort of the tenants and saves natural gas,” he says.
Independent Owner of the Year: Ryan Steele
Ryan Steele never intended to be the owner of 35 units of rental property in San Francisco. In 2001, his girlfriend at the time, now his wife, just wanted to buy a condo. After going over the numbers repeatedly, he realized that buying a three-unit fixer made the most sense. The couple ended up living in the top floor and renting out the bottom two floors while renovating the building. “After completing the renovations, we refinanced and bought another building. I have built up our complete real-estate holdings by repeating this strategy,” Steele reveals.
That strategy has been tested recently with the clamp down on lending, but Steele is still making his business flourish: “Despite my rapid growth in the last eight years, and the difficult banking and tenant environment, I am cash positive, supporting my family with some beautiful properties.” Steele believes he can create the same returns for other owners in the city by providing consultation, acquisition, management and renovation services. “It’s a great time to invest in residential real estate and I am looking to repeat the last eight years on a bigger scale using my formula,” he says.
Best New Development of the Year; Maintenance Manager of the Year; Administrative Professional of the Year: Trinity Management
Angelo Sangiacomo believes the unique nature of his Mid-Market project, Trinity Place, is what made it the Best New Development of the Year. “It represents the first time that a new residential rental project was built under the auspices of rent control; hundreds of current residents of the existing plaza building will move into the new building at their current rents,” he says. The project stands out in other ways as well: it’s the first phase of the largest rental project to be built in SF in 50 years (since Parkmerced), and it’s only the second time (besides Mission Bay) that the city has entered into a development agreement with a project sponsor.
Given the lengthy development process, Sangiacomo doesn’t believe the next phase of the project will be ready in time for the 2010 Trophies, but he plans to keep this year’s award in a prominent spot in his office to remind him of all his accomplishments in 2009.
Sangiacomo wasn’t the only Trinity Management member to be honored at the awards. Mariusz Gajdka took home the Maintenance Manager Trophy for the second time. Unlike other repeat winners who have said they will take a break in 2010, Gajdka is out for a three-peat. “I will definitely enter next year and am hoping to continue a streak of excellent work. It always feels nice to be recognized for something you have done well,” he relays, adding, “I never expect to win this award, as I know there are a lot of very talented individuals vying for it every year.”
Gajdka might have been surprised, but his coworker Jacky Lopez had a feeling that she was going to win this year’s Administrative Professional Trophy. “To be honest, I kind of felt like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory with my golden ticket. I just knew I was going to win because I’ve worked so hard and really opened up in my application,” she says.
Like Gajdka, Lopez keeps her Trophy in her living room, where she can see it on her way to work to remind her to stay motivated throughout the day. Also like Gajdka, Lopez plans to apply every year that she is nominated. “I’m only getting better with age,” she jokes.
Industry Partner of the Year: Eviction Assistance
Industry Partner of the Year is a unique award at the Trophies in that it is the only one to recognize associate members who are particularly valuable to the SFAA. On awards night, Jo Biel Clark of Eviction Assistance was feeling the pressure. “The competition is fierce,” she says. “There are so many valuable members of the San Francisco Apartment Association and we were so lucky to be selected the winner.”
Despite the competition, Clark believes that Eviction Assistance came out on top because it strives to make its services available to SFAA members, reviewing documents or answering questions at no cost. “Members really appreciate the quick, easy, available access to us when they have a question that the staff at SFAA cannot answer. We have taught classes, assisted with review of the new lease changes and contributed articles to the magazine,” she explains.
Maintenance Technician of the Year; Property Manager (1-500 Units): West Coast Property Management
This year, Victor Yeung and Marianne Wong of West Coast Property Management took home the trophies for Maintenance Tech and Property Manager, respectively. For more on these winners and West Coast Property Management, turn to page 30.
Green Building of the Year: The Fillmore Center
With major efforts underway to become LEED certified, the Fillmore Center is understandably proud of its Trophy for Green Building of the Year—and Fillmore Center General Manager Paul Hyams isn’t taking the win for granted. “We want to continue to challenge not only ourselves, but our peers, to become green,” he relays.
The Fillmore Center also spread the word at its first “Green Week” event, where residents learned how to live greener by composting, turning off lights when not in use, and using cold water to wash clothes. As Hyams explains, this green focus isn’t specific to The Fillmore Center: “Laramar encourages all of its properties to be green, with the Fillmore Center leading in this endeavor for our company.”
Leasing Agent of the Year: Jackie Tom, Rentals in SF
As a landlord herself, Jackie Tom knows firsthand the struggles that owners have to go through to manage rental properties in San Francisco. As a result, she feels that she can help owners in exactly the ways that they need. “My team and I provide local landlords with experienced agents who dedicate their full energies to
residentialleasing. I am very proud of this specificity in the market, as it allows Rentals in SF to provide landlords with a professional, highly knowledgeable
and consultative-type service, thereby maximizing revenues, decreasing costs
and reducing vacancy rates.”
Although Tom was “overjoyed and extremely proud” to win her 2009 Trophy, she is hardly one to rest on her laurels.
Instead, she is already looking to the future. “With decreasing rental rates, 2010 will be a challenging year for our local landlords,” she posits. “As a landlord
advocate, I will be rolling out new initiatives to take this on directly and to provide property owners a means to maximize the return on their rentals.”
General Manager of the Year: Daniel Croley, Grosvenor Properties
Daniel Croley didn’t even know that he was in the running for the General Manager of the Year award until he got a call from SFAA saying that he had been nominated by an associate. The surprises just continued from there, including the big win in November. “Perhaps some slight measure of my surprise could be judged by the fact that I had not even figured out the pathway from our table to the podium,” he laughs.
In the months since the win, Croley has gotten over the shock of his unexpected Trophy and says that it only makes him want to work harder in the future. “Receiving this award was a pleasing affirmation that we are on the right course and has led to reconnecting with former associates and the establishment of new friends and relationships,” he explains. “Now, I will just have to raise the bar another notch or two to ensure that I continue to warrant the award.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Emily Landes is the editor of SF Apartment Magazine. Copyright © 2010 by Black Point Press. All rights reserved.