As soon as an architect friend showed him a video of the Ori system, Matt Branagh knew it was just what he was looking for. The fourth-generation Owner/CEO of Branagh Development, Lafayette, Calif., saw that Ori could make his studio apartments feel like junior one-bedroom units—perfect, he said, for the “huge wave of people” coming to Oakland from San Francisco to get more space at lower rental cost in a first-class building.
He leased five Studio Suites and purchased eight Pocket Closets for Maya, his firm’s 47-unit apartment building in Oakland, which opened in March. He’s bundling a $275/month premium into the leases for units with a Studio Suite and $95/month for those with a Pocket Closet.
Branagh said tenant adoption for the Pocket Closet was “really strong.” “People get it,” he said. “It’s a price point that they’re willing to pay for, and it’s unique—their friends don’t have it.” He said some prospective tenants were “a little intimidated” working the robotic keyboard at first, but “once they did it a couple of times, they loved it.”
He said Ori turned his floor plans around in 3-4 days and suggested several options. The manufacturer flew in two technicians from Boston to install the systems. They had to do a work-around for the Pocket Closets because the nonmoving section of the two-part system would have bumped into the apartments’ mini-splits. Even so, “the installation was quicker than expected,” just a few days, he said. Branagh has ordered six more.
For Nova Quincy, a 171-unit mixed-use rental community in Quincy, Mass., 10 miles south of Boston, Jonathan Miller, Vice President of LBC Boston, has ordered 40 Studio Suites. “Our prospective tenants are young professionals looking for value outside Boston but close to transit in a lively downtown center,” said Miller. The MBTA Red Line stop is a seven-minute walk.
Nova Quincy will open in September, but already there’s been “a ton of interest” in the Ori system from prospective tenants “looking for something innovative.”
Studio Suites will be installed in 10 studio apartments and 30 micro-units (330–400 sf). “One of the primary benefits of Ori is your usable square footage is much greater”—about 100–150 sf more, he has calculated—“than what you’re paying for.” LBC Boston will include a $200–250 monthly rental premium for what they’re calling “Ori Smart” Studios.
SEE ALSO: Robotic interiors: How to make a studio apartment feel as big as a one-bedroom unit
Miller said he wants to see how the leasing goes for the Ori-outfitted units, but so far he’s “definitely bullish” on using Studio Suites in future projects in Quincy, Allston, and Brighton, where LBC Boston has permitting for 1,500 apartments.
Related Stories
| Feb 5, 2013
8 eye-popping wood building projects
From 100-foot roof spans to novel reclaimed wood installations, the winners of the 2013 National Wood Design Awards push the envelope in wood design.
| Jan 31, 2013
Map of U.S. illustrates planning times for commercial construction
Stephen Oliner, a UCLA professor doing research for the Federal Reserve Board, has made the first-ever estimate of planning times for commercial construction across the United States.
| Jan 31, 2013
More severe wind storms should prompt nationwide reexamination of building codes, says insurance expert
The increased number and severity of storms with high winds nationally should prompt a reexamination of building codes in every community, says Mory Katz, vice president, Verisk Insurance Solutions Commercial Property, Jersey City, N.J.
| Jan 29, 2013
Trinitas and Harrison Street Break Ground Near University of Kentucky
The 699-bed Collegiate on Angliana, with an anticipated opening date of August 2013, will serve students attending the University of Kentucky (UK).
| Jan 23, 2013
Music-Inspired Apartment Complex Completed in Tampa's Tempo District
Named in honor of jazz artist Ella Fitzgerald, Ella at Encore is the first building to rise from plans to develop a mixed-use, mixed-income urban village in the community.
| Dec 6, 2012
Suffolk Construction awarded Phase Two of Boston’s Old Colony redevelopment project
Project team breaks ground on South Boston public housing project designed for energy efficiency.
| Nov 13, 2012
2012 LEED for Homes Award recipients announced
USGBC recognizes excellence in the green residential building community at its Greenbuild Conference & Expo in San Francisco
| Nov 11, 2012
Greenbuild 2012 Report: Multifamily
Sustainably designed apartments are apples of developers’ eyes
| Oct 5, 2012
2012 Reconstruction Award Silver Winner: 220 Water Street, Brooklyn, N.Y.
The recent rehabilitation of 220 Water Street transforms it from a vacant manufacturing facility to a 134-unit luxury apartment building in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood.
| Aug 1, 2012
C.W. Driver forms Driver URBAN
Driver URBAN specializes in the construction of multi-family apartments, mixed-use developments, affordable housing, student and senior housing, and hospitality projects.
