Overview
As the first of its kind in the market, Southtowne’s mixed-use development of 6 acres of blighted, polluted property into a bustling, urban, live-work-play neighborhood faced public skepticism and caution. We needed to persuade traditional, single-family home residents to embrace a multifamily approach to downtown living.
100%
of units leased, six months before construction finished.
$1.4M
in leases signed, before first units were even available for move-in.
380
people on a waiting list for 258 units, before pre-leasing began.
The Challenge
As the first of its kind in the market, Southtowne’s mixed-use development of 6 acres of blighted, polluted property into a bustling, urban, live-work-play neighborhood faced public skepticism and caution. We needed to persuade traditional, single-family home residents to embrace a multifamily approach to downtown living.
Southtowne had the opportunity and challenge of being “new.” This required an educational effort on the nuances of a dense, urban living environment, such as more compact floor plans, less room for parking, more community and neighbor interaction, and increased on-site amenities compared to most suburban residences.
Approach
We worked with the development group, Studer Properties, to build community awareness for the project, generating hundreds of leads for prospective residents and supporting the lease-up effort for this development.
From focus groups to amenity preferences and online contests, including one to name the new development, “Southtowne,” elements of this project were crowd-sourced and market-tested from the ground up.
Additionally, the increased attention on this project required an iterative approach, which entailed “narrating the process” of the construction. This ongoing communications strategy literally explained each step of the construction process as it was happening, from design development to site work and remediation, foundations and pilings, framing, masonry, and landscaping.
"Travis and the Impact team have been a part of the journey of revitalizing Pensacola. They have narrated the story of so many influential projects in our area...The team supported a completely leased Southtowne apartment project prior to the building's completion. Thank you, Travis and the Impact team for the difference you make."
Results
As the lease-up process began, our Southtowne marketing efforts yielded a big head-start for the management company. Our approach built a brand with demand–a waiting list larger than the actual number of units delivered, a fully-leased building 6 months before the final units were delivered, and $1.4 million in lease sales before the first units were even occupied.
In the years following, the Southtowne development continued to show significant demand, with available units leasing within 12 hours of being posted for rent. It continues to be a highly sought-after place to live in downtown Pensacola.
If you’d like more information on how your development project can achieve these same results, contact us.
