So I have a finance background. I come from HFF and 4 years as a dev associate. In my opinion, my strengths are managing a job and managing a team of consultants efficiently. My philosophy is drive rents and spend as little money as possible. My current shop has a team of former architects by trade and I constantly feel like I am doing a poor job because I am not able to answer the detailed design questions that come from my principal. I recognize the design is important, but the fact that we spend 8 weeks designing a lobby drives me a bit crazy. Lobbies do not drive rents, units, amenities, and location drive rents. My project is on schedule and budget. Do top tier developers really need to know the architectural details to be successful? I feel like my principal gets frustrated that I don’t spend the time on the design details. Do most development shops care this much? I absolutely want to learn design but I feel like the fact that I can keep a job moving on budget is more important. Thoughts?
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Design is important because it actually does drive revenue. The lobby is the first thing tenants experience when they walk into your building. Do you need to be able to explain intricate design - probably not. But you work with architects and that is important to your bosses - so in your instance yes. At other firms - maybe. For example, my boss and I spend a lot of time on design because we are the only ones paying attention to it. It is important in a respect. Bad design = bad experience = less revenue.
There is a lot of data out there that shows what drive rents: units and amenities. When was the last time you rented an apartment because you liked the lobby?
If you’re gonna ask the question and not be happy when people tell you what you don’t want to hear, can’t really help you.
It's literally the first thing you see when you walk into a building. It doesn't necessarily drive rents, but it absolutely drives absorption.