Challenge

Oak Creek Apartments is located in a mature, tree-lined and quiet residential neighborhood off the Sonoma Highway in Santa Rosa. Due to a considerable amount of deferred and mostly aesthetic maintenance that resulted in a substandard lifestyle experience, the property was experiencing a high resident turnover. The property was acquired by a private San Francisco-based investor who hired Woodmont Real Estate Services to oversee the asset’s renovation and improve the day-to-day management and profitability of the property.

Solution

After assessing the competitive submarket and understanding resident and prospect desires, a comprehensive exterior and interior renovation was undertaken to improve the lifestyle experience to be most appealing to the core demographic profile. This project included updates to the exterior of the buildings, new landscaping, updated driveway, walking paths and signage and enhancements to the resident amenities. Interior improvements were selected to meet or exceed the standards found in rental homes, a significant competitive leasing factor in this region.

One of the most dramatic improvements was to the Leasing Center, which was transformed into a new open floor plan space that featured a guest hospitality space and as an improved resident relations area.

Results

With the fresh look and modern interiors, Woodmont was able to market the property as luxury apartments. Optimizing the new market rehab and lease renewal program enabled Woodmont to quickly exceed the pro-forma rents. Since then, Oak Creek consistently maintains high occupancy and improved cash flow for the owner.