MIAMI, FL – MORGAN, a leader in upscale multifamily development, construction and property management, plans to break ground during the second quarter of 2016 on a luxury apartment high rise in Miami. Named Pearl Midtown 29, the 20-tale tower with 309 units is a joint venture between MORGAN and Mesirow Financial. The deal was arranged by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF), with construction financing provided by Wells Fargo. Completion of the project is expected during the first half of 2018.

Pearl Midtown 29, strategically located at 180 NE 29th Street at the intersection of NE 29th Street and NE 2nd Avenue, will occupy most of a city block. The site is surrounded by Miami’s most dynamic neighborhoods — Midtown, the Design District and the Wynwood Arts District — with quick access to major thoroughfares leading to downtown Miami, Brickell and Miami Beach. Pearl Midtown 29 is situated at the entrance to The Shops at Midtown, a 645,000-square-foot lifestyle center anchored by nationally prominent retail and local chef-driven restaurant tenants.

The mixed-use Pearl Midtown 29 development will include over 12,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and an adjacent six-level parking garage. The seventh floor amenity deck will include a resort-style swimming pool and spa with private cabanas, an outdoor bar, grilling stations, fire pit, and a fitness center equipped with a yoga/spinning studio. Luxury units, ranging from studios to one, two and three bedrooms, will average 839 square feet.

“Pearl Midtown 29 will benefit from its front door being located at Midtown’s southern gate on 29th Street, which is a major east-west artery connecting Biscayne Blvd. with Midtown and Wynwood,” said MORGAN Regional Vice President of Development Evan Schlecker. “Besides affording quick access to the area’s highly desired retail and dining outlets, Midtown 29 will support a walkable, urban lifestyle and feature breathtaking water views of Biscayne Bay from most units and the amenity deck.”

Since the 1990s, MORGAN has developed nearly 3,500 multifamily units in the Florida market. In addition to starting construction on Pearl Midtown 29, MORGAN plans to open 412-unit Pearl Dadeland in Miami during 2016. To date, MORGAN has sold six Florida properties totaling 2,248 units, with approximately 1,500 units still in its Florida portfolio.

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DALLAS, TX – Pinnacle, one of the nation’s leading multifamily management firms, announced it was awarded over 29,000 apartment homes from two separate portfolios, adding 19,689 units in Florida; 6,635 units in Colorado; 1,144 units in California; and 1,721 units in Washington. To accommodate the growth, the company expanded its national and regional infrastructure to ensure a smooth transition for the incoming communities and team members and to avoid disruption for residents.

“The continued upswing in the multifamily markets across the nation is fueling investment opportunities for our clients,” said Rick Graf, president and chief executive officer. “Pinnacle was pleased to have been selected for the management of these portfolios and immediately turned our attention to dedicating resources toward the undertaking. Our goal was to protect our client’s investment while enriching the resident experience.”

Developing a strategic approach to such a large integration was the first course of action after being awarded management. Pinnacle’s in-place processes were fortified to handle the volume of incoming properties, applying a system of checks and balances so operations would not be interrupted.

The migration occurred in phases, clarified Larry Goodman, chief operating officer. “As a management company, we were entrusted with overseeing so much more than bricks and mortar. This is a home environment and the last thing we wanted to do was cause disruption in any way so we did our due diligence to minimize errors and anticipate the concerns of residents. Then we implemented our plans with a calculated approach.”

Overall, 700 team members were hired during the transition, 12 of whom were regional level managers, to accommodate the growth and safeguard the operational integrity of the communities. To supplement Pinnacle’s automated processes in play, onboarding teams were made to visit each property and induct the new hires. Forty corporate positions were also added within various departments, including Human Resources, Marketing, Information Technology and Learning and Development, to support the associated business initiatives.

“Securing the right talent was paramount to this endeavor,” said Graf. “Once that was accomplished, it was vital for us to personally interface with each new team member as they started their cultural introduction into the company. These individuals were more than just a name on paper to us, they became an integral part of Pinnacle with living and breathing thoughts to share.”

Training was another primary focus for Pinnacle. The strategy was to provide critical operating information to new team members at a very early stage over a period of several weeks, targeting different topics and job titles on a rotational basis. A blended learning environment with intensive in-person sessions, along with hands-on practice scenarios and virtual courses and resources was initiated. Each new community was also sponsored by a seasoned Pinnacle team member to provide guided support and serve as a direct point of contact. This collaborative approach between many of Pinnacle’s internal departments allowed community life to proceed with as few disruptions as possible.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the results,” said Graf. “Pinnacle did so much more than grow a portfolio. We attracted some of the best professionals in the business to help in our mission. These talented individuals have all contributed to the evolution of our company.”

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AUSTIN, TX – After three years of R&D, Austin-based housing startup KASITA revealed its prototype at SXSW Interactive, where it was awarded the 2016 SXSW Innovation Award in the Smart Cities category.

Named one of 2016’s Most Innovative Companies by Quick Company, KASITA is transforming urban living, designing and fabricating housing that is more affordable, adaptable and efficient than anything offered by the status quo.

KASITA’s futuristic metal and glass housing units measure approximately 300 square feet, catering to the increasing numbers of one and two person households in today’s cities. Units are packed with amenities, smart home tech and custom furnishings that take advantage of every cubic inch of space. Because they are mass-produced, construction costs are kept low and quality high. KASITA units are quickly attached to a patent pending plug-and-play rack, which can be set up in days and quickly hooked up to utility lines. The racks slide into underutilized or unused urban lots that are too small for conventional housing development. A KASITA development is being built in Austin later this year, and there is a fantastic deal of interest from cities across the globe. At SXSW, 14 mayors visited the KASITA prototype, including those from San Jose, Providence and Kansas City, each evaluating KASITA as an affordable solution for their cities.

“Urban housing is perhaps the single most vital factor in facing the economic, environmental and social challenges that face humanity today,” said KASITA founder and CEO Jeff Wilson, aka “Professor Dumpster,” who lived in a 33 square foot dumpster for a year to determine how small space and stuff a person needs to live a pleased life. But Wilson believes the status quo is failing, and failing terrible. As the world’s populations urbanize, urban cores are facing extreme housing shortages, driving up housing costs and driving out the middle class as well as artists, creatives, immigrants and young professionals who are the cultural capital that make cities fantastic.

“Every aspect of KASITA — from its high tech prefabricated construction to its ability to set up quickly on discounted land — was designed to make both an incredible living experience and produce development and living costs that crush traditional site building in terms of affordability,” Wilson said.

“In his SXSW keynote, President Obama said we need to tackle huge problems in new ways, and I couldn’t agree more. But the last real innovation in housing was 150 years ago, when people started building higher than six tales,” Wilson said. He believes KASITA is a complete break from the current way housing is made and developed, bringing to bear the innovative spirit commonplace in tech to the housing market. “I reckon it was Albert Einstein who remarked that the housing that made the problem, will not be the housing that solves it.”

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