Managing Extremes While the company manages a comprehensive range of property types, it’s best known for two extremes: luxury high-rise communities and affordable housing. “We’ve managed every type of residential property in Chicago, from … condominium conversions to new development of townhouses; mid-rises, high-rises, luxury and moderate-income properties; senior housing and scattered site rehab properties … so we manage a little bit of everything,” says Woodworth.
But the company, and many of its long-term employees, cut its teeth on high-rises. Levin founded the company in 1971 with an interest in urban planning opportunities. Habitat began with high-rise and mid-rise buildings in downtown Detroit and Chicago, and remains active in Chicago’s downtown market, where most of the company’s units are located. “Everyone at Habitat has been trained on high-rises and now we’re high-rise specialists,” says Woodworth.
That includes Woodworth’s own background with the company. Woodworth, 49, started working for Habitat in 1973. “I was ready to go to law school when James McHugh, [the other] founding partner, suggested that I might find working with his real estate company interesting,” he explains.
So, Woodworth abandoned law school to become one of Habitat’s first janitors. “I wasn’t mopping floors, but learning about the mechanical systems and how to repair them, how to hire contractors, and then [how to] manage a building,” he says.
Through the years, he learned nearly every part of the business, including accounting, budgeting, forecasting, administration and, eventually, operating responsibilities. “Habitat had 2,500 units when I started, and five people in the main office. Now, we have more than 20,000 [units] and 85 people in the central office,” he says.
As the company has grown, so has the number of high-rises Habitat manages, to nearly 40 high-rise towers in downtown Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis.
“I think we know more about residential high-rises than almost anyone,” says Woodworth.
“It’s true what people say about location, location, location. Our downtown high-rises are in prime locations for in-city living,” he says.
Also, the large number of condensed units allows owners and managers to offer a more comprehensive amenities package, often including doormen, large health club facilities and secure parking garages. But that doesn’t make management much different than mid-rise, garden-style or condo property types, because the basics of the business are all the same, says Woodworth. While high-rise managers certainly must manage more complicated mechanical systems – such as heating and cooling systems, and elevators – and concentrate on a larger number of units in a denser area, good management is the same regardless of property type, he says.