Renovations Reflect a Quiter Multifamily Market

Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Margaret Cashill, Staff writer

Some apartment owners are investing in creative ways.

Korman Residential Properties, the Trevose, Pa.-based company that owns and manages the River Chase Apartments in Temple Terrace, hired Luke Brothers Inc. Landscape Services based in Holiday to build a dog park at the apartment complex, which is slated to open in the spring.

Korman, which is also planning a community garden, has taken a different approach to capital expenditures, said President Jim Korman.

"It's not the traditional capital expenditures," Korman said. "We're doing enhancements to the property we feel will increase resident retention and give people a greater sense of community."

In addition, Korman is transitioning several of its apartments into smoke-free units, which requires changing carpets and repainting.

Korman also must get in touch with each resident and find out if they have an interest in being in a smoke-free building, a process that can require more legwork than the actual conversions, Korman said.

The concepts have been popular at other Korman properties in the Northeast, he said. "I am hopeful we will have the same results down here."

mcashill@bizjournals.com | 813.342.2463