Cell Phones and Cash Of course, there are other money-making ideas, too: reserved parking spots, clubhouse rentals, fitness center fees. But not everything works.
Two sources of ancillary revenue get mixed reviews from multifamily firms: cell phone towers on building rooftops and automated teller machines, or ATMs. While cell phone towers once represented a healthy revenue stream, that has begun to diminish—and will do so even more—amid broad consolidation among the big cell phone services companies. “With some of these mergers, not as many sites are needed when both companies can use the same sites,” says AIMCO’s Baumann.
ATMs have been installed on a limited basis on KSI properties and “so far look really good,” says Murray, whose company earns a commission on transactions. Others were less enthusiastic. Forest City’s Acker suggested ATMs will fare best in locations that have retail space alongside apartment units.
While there’s less than universal agreement on the best potential sources of ancillary income, it’s clear the need to develop and deliver new revenue is being felt at the highest levels of the nation’s apartment firms.
– Tom Smith is a freelancer in Williamsville, N.Y.