Drones, digital touch screens, virtual and augmented reality, and innovative software packages are some of the tools that cutting-edge property managers are using.
Indeed, Technologies and Tools is the name of one of the panels at an upcoming property management conference.
“It’s a pretty cool panel,” said Zvi Rudawsky, managing member at Wheelhouse Commercial, which manages an eclectic mix of properties in Denver and the surrounding area.
Tech panel is cutting-edge
The panel is one of the highlights of the 2019 Property Management Conference & Expo.
The conference will be held from 7 until 11:45 a.m. Feb. 20 at the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center.
It marks the 16thannual property management conference sponsored by the Colorado Real Estate Journal.
About 475 people are expected to attend, making it the largest conference of its kind in the Denver area in 2019.
Rudawsky recently reached out to the members on the panel he is moderating.
All-star tech panel
Panel members include:
- Megan Lubaszka, an associate at Gensler, who will address “Virtual Realty and Augmented Realty”;
- Grant Hall, managing director of Halkin Aerial Services, who will speak of using drones for property and facility management;
- Scott Papay, a sales leader for LONG Building Technologies, who will address software innovations for property managers; and
- Ajay Kapoor, CEO of Touchsource. Kapoor will talk about digital directories and wayfinding.
This building at 574 Santa Fe Drive is part of the eclectic mix of properties managed by Wheelhouse Commercial.
Rudawsky excited about tech panel
“They are all doing pretty cool, cutting-edge stuff,” Rudawsky said about the panel members.
Lubaszka, for example, told him at Gensler they can use virtual reality to create a “3-D walk-through” of a spec building. Hall told him they can use drone photography that can be sent to a 3-D printer to build a model of the building.
“It’s pretty amazing stuff,” Rudawsky said.
Technology is allowing managers to serve tenants and building owners better than ever, according to Rudawsky.
“It’s amazing what web technology is doing for us in the property management business,” Rudawsky said. For example, at Wheelhouse, which manages more than 3,500 apartment units and 1.5 million square feet of office space, “with a push of a button” the company can track expenses at every unit it manages.
“It’s made us more responsive,” Rudawsky said. “It allows us to track every aspect of the building more efficiently. We have 35 maintenance guys running around town addressing any problems that might come up. Thanks to technology, we can serve our clients and our tenants better than ever.”
Zvi Rudawsky
Wheelhouse recently invested in a camera that is so advanced that Rudawksy hasn’t yet used all of its capabilities.
“It creates floor plans that you can furnish with virtual furniture,” he explained. “You can even do a virtual reality tour. We are thinkng of creating a virtual reality room.”
In addition to technology, other panels will address topics as varied as brokerage, investments, and attorneys, litigation and liability avoidance.
Who’s Who of property managers
In addition to Rudawsky and his panel members, others participating in the conference will include:
- Steve Sessions, founder and owner of the Sessions Group LLC;
- Channing Gibson, 2019 president, Denver Metro BOMA;
- Daniel Murphy, president-elect, IREM Greater Denver Chapter;
- Whitney Hake, senior vice president, agency leasing – office, Transwestern;
- Doug Viseur, first vice president, CBRE;
- Carolyn Martinez, director, Newmark Knight Frank;
- Lyla A. Gambow, general manager, Lincoln Property Co.;
- William R. Meyer, shareholder, Polsinelli PC;
- Amanda H. Halstead, manager, Real Estate Practice Group, Mills Schmitz Halstead & Zaloudek LLC;
-
Halkin Aerial Services can use drone photography to show the best places for green roofs and solar panels on buildings.
- Michael Felderman, insurance producer/principal, CoWest Insurance Services;
- Chad Flynn, vice president, Institutional Properties, CBRE/Capital Markets;
- Peter Merrion, senior director, HFF;
- Rick Egitto, principal, Capital Markets Group, Avison Young;
- Brian C. Smith, first vice president, investments, Marcus & Millichap;
- Paul Donahue, associate, Newmark Knight Frank;
- Wendy C. Williams, director of property panagement, Vector Property Services;
- Ashton Steele, general manager, Shorenstein Realty Services LP;
- Heather Sutton, property manager-Denver Place, LBA Realty;
- Liz Seeger, senior portfolio manager, Commercial Property Services, Griffis/Blessing;
- Eric Weisenstein, director of property management-Denver, Hines;
- Channing Gibson, president-elect of BOMA and director of property management, RISE Commercial Property Services; and
- Josh Shoemaker, regional director of management services, Southeast, Newmark Knight Frank.
