Test Run
Still, what is special in one market might not raise the rents in another. That’s why before Mid-America Apartment Communities put full steam into a renovation of more than 1,000 units across several Southeastern markets, it tested a template for an upgraded kitchen in 17 communities. To update the look enough to up the rent, the Memphis-based firm replaced cabinet doors and painted them white, traded worn-out door hardware with brushed nickel or aged bronze handles, installed cloud-style overhead lighting fixtures, and sprang for brand-new white appliances. Remodelers glued down vinyl flooring styled to look like wood planks.
“We put together a base template,” says David Nischwitz, a vice president in charge of Mid-America’s interior renovation program. “It’s not fad-related. It’s not in today and out tomorrow.” And it doesn’t include stainless steel appliances. “To us,” says Nischwitz, “the price [of stainless] was pushing it above a B-plus in our evaluation.” Besides, he notes, “I don’t know of anybody doing stainless in our markets.”
As hoped, the company was able to raise rents on the upgraded apartments, which featured a general interior overhaul, but focused on kitchens and bathrooms, by up to 20 percent the first year. The extra money will pay for the upgrades in three-and-a-half years, says Nischwitz.
The public apartment REIT was smart to take an overall approach to its kitchen updates. An inspired kitchen design, notes Springer, looks as if it were “all designed together–not a hodgepodge of products.”
Even if a potential resident doesn’t “get” the design at first glance, the impression of the well-designed room tends to linger. “If they’re out shopping [for an apartment] and they’ve been to a dozen places and they see a design like that,” Springer says,” it tends to stick out and give them a memory point.”
And if a would-be resident remembers just one room, it should be the kitchen, says Seattle marketing specialist John Inge, a principal of Alloy Partnership. “That’s where people spend most of their waking time,” he notes. “They want to have fun when they’re cooking rather than just feeling like it’s something to do.”
–Sharon O’Malley is a freelance writer in College Park, Md.
Captivating Kitchens
Granite countertops and wood floors are high style for today’s kitchens–and their price tags prove it.
But some apartment communities are investing in wood-look vinyl floors, faux-granite countertops, and refaced cabinets to offer their residents the trendiest of looks at a trimmer price than real stone and hardwood. “The technology is very good now,” notes Tom Flitsch, director of redevelopment for Essex Property Trust. “Those photo finishes actually look very deceiving.” Here’s what you need to do to create a captivating kitchen at any price.
Affordable property: If the existing dishwasher, refrigerator and oven are a matched set and still work well, keep them, but scrub them inside and out until they sparkle like new. Dress up cabinets with a fresh coat of white paint to make the space look larger. Ditch any old metal cabinetry; it’s too dated to even pretend it’s stylish. And if it’s time to replace the floor, choose affordable vinyl that mimics wood or stone.
Market-rate property: Choose black for the major appliances; it’s nearly as popular as stainless, plays in all markets (stainless is most popular on the coasts), and sells at a price that’s easier on the corporate wallet. Replace cabinet doors only (not the whole cabinet) with a color that matches the original units. If the hue is off, paint the whole thing white. Lay earth-colored granite-look laminate on countertops; high-gloss styles feature crevices and crannies that feel more like the real deal. Glue down laminate flooring that looks like wood planks. Change to brushed-nickel cabinet hardware.
Luxury property: Create a kitchen from genuine granite; solid cherry or maple cabinets; stainless steel refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven; bamboo or hardwood floor finished with water- and scratch-resistant polyurethane. Adorn cabinets with brushed-nickel hardware, and hang a pretty chandelier over the breakfast nook.
