Two upcoming smart community projects to keep an eye on

Demetrios Barnes is the COO of SmartRentoversee operations and business development.

While there is no consensus on what a smart community looks like, and the exact definition varies by industry, the overarching goal remains consistent: providing residents with a unified, technology-enabled infrastructure to provide a confident sense of urban planning that complies with environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

There have been many upcoming projects in recent years and it is difficult for owners to stay focused when there is so much noise. However, there are two main offerings that take the lead and give us a sense of what smart communities will look like soon and well into the future. Of all the elements, the ones that come to fruition in the first place are bulk Wi-Fi and super apps. These elements lay the foundation for future smart community planning, wider implementation and broader activation.

Wi-Fi wherever you are

The benefits of bulk Wi-Fi provide tenants with a reality where they don’t have to deal with the “cable guy”. The solution connects tenants and other staff anywhere within a community to the Internet. Smart products are not just in the home, they are everywhere in a smart community and require constant Wi-Fi access to function. Examples include connectivity for parking, waste collection, gyms, water, sewage, maintenance and other utilities. This supports the argument that bulk Wi-Fi should be considered a necessary utility, like gas and electricity, in our modern world.

Bulk Wi-Fi is already underway on scale and city planners help build cities. According to the research firm Parks Associates, “Apartment builder interest in managed high-speed internet grew from 5% for new luxury developments in 2018 to 80% early 2021.”

Here are some benefits of bulk Wi-Fi.

• Cost saving for residents: Similar to the “Costco effect” or employer-sponsored health insurance, buying online in bulk saves money. Instead of paying for Wi-Fi per unit, owners can get a single payment for everyone in the community. The payment can be grouped with the rest of the utilities provided by a resident, simplifying their lives and saving time.

• Attract and retain residents: Potential tenants view bulk internet as an added benefit as it eliminates yet another bill and third-party installations. It also supports the move-in experience — a hassle in itself — by letting residents work with a residential technician. The in-house technician can be reached through tenant portals and works with residents to resolve issues quickly, resulting in better overall experiences and a greater competitive advantage for owners.

• Offers optimal connectivity: Have all tenants and devices on the same internet connection can help ensure high speed performance. Residents don’t have to worry about different community Wi-Fi logins, making it easier for them to stay connected while using community amenities.

• Improved Operator Operations and Efficiency: Managers can more accurately track usage per resident and adjust accordingly via sensors connected via Wi-Fi. Leak detection and other sensors can continue to operate even when the unit is idle, saving owners from having to pay for avoidable property damage.

• Helps products live up to their potential: Smart community products are made to be environmentally friendly. Making sure they have accurate and consistent connections without any interruptions reduces a community’s environmental footprint.

Reliable Wi-Fi connectivity for hubs and smart home devices is important, even in the early stages of community building. The ideal outcome for any property is to offer these solutions in a new development or add as a retrofit to existing structures.

A single app for a single community

According to Gartner, super apps consolidate and replace multiple apps for use by customers or employees. They’ve blossomed because, understandably, consumers don’t want to switch between different apps to perform a single action. We’re increasingly seeing apps we already have on our phones moving in that direction.

Snapchat originally introduced this with the idea of ​​the “mini app”third-party bite-sized apps within the larger Snapchat app. Other social media apps, such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, allow people to send direct messages, shop, bank, and find entertainment. It makes sense that this would be a natural next step for the real estate industry. For example, Zillow already has a “housing super app”, which helped push the company’s stock up. Along the same lines as bulk Wi-Fi, a community-wide app would further connect everyone within a smart community to create a more unified experience for residents and staff alike.

The future of smart communities looks like one “super app” to control all the smart devices and controls that complete a resident’s home. A super app is designed to be more user-friendly and intuitive with how residents live and interact with technology. It makes the living experience more streamlined, integrated and efficient. For example, if a resident has a problem such as a leak in their home, they can identify the leak and what device it’s coming from, call maintenance, and schedule an appointment, all with the swipe of a finger. A single point of contact for residents improves the tenant experience and appeals to prospects.

Smart communities are just around the corner

Smart communities are coming faster than we think, powered by massive Wi-Fi, super apps and more. Soon we should see more momentum in these areas, with investment expected to pick up $2.8 trillion by 2027. We already see projects from leading companies such as Amazon Web Services, which recently announced a smart city program. Culdesac Tempe, a $170 million pedestrianized neighborhood with 761 residential units, launched the first phase of his community this past fall. And Peachtree Corners, a $16 million investment in Atlanta’s northern suburbs, is testing smart city technology in its community. These projects have the same underlying background of confident urban planning to meet ESG standards.

Moving into 2023, business owners should keep these projects in mind as they bring products to market. Products that provide a more unified experience can help operators focus on managing their business in a unified manner, create a better experience for residents and lead to long-term occupancy.

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