COMMUNITY PIONEERS: RISE OF NEW MARKETS

CRAFTING

IDENTITY

BELONGING THROUGH EACH DEVELOPMENT WE UNDERTAKE. ULTIMATELY, WE BELIEVE THE TENANT IS BUYING INTO AN IDENTITY AS MUCH AS THEY ARE BUYING INTO A RESIDENTIAL OFFERING IN THE BTR MARKET.

It means designing for lifestyle: An extensive array of resort-like wellbeing, leisure, and entertainmentfocussed amenities throughout the site. These amenities seek to enhance the tenant’s quality of life, and including pools, gyms, leisure spaces, communal kitchen and dining areas, function spaces, communal walking passages, dog-walks, libraries, and a central concierge.

It means designing for person: Apartments, studios, and villas with optimised use of space and high-quality fixtures and finishes. Residential spaces must cater to a diverse spectrum of changing tenant needs and lifestyles, particularly accommodating couples, growing families and retirees in different phases of life.

It means designing for place: A considered precinct layout maximising the locational attributes of a BTR and its proximity to transport, education facilities, hospitals, retail and employment hubs.

It means designing for purpose: Innovative design narratives underpin buildings, amenities, and shared spaces creating an aspirational living environment that tenants are proud to belong to, and might not have otherwise been able to afford to buy into.

It means designing for the future: Creating a sustainable asset that will endure over time, thereby minimising the likelihood of wasteful or disposable repair, refurbish or re-build actions.

When we first entered the BTR market, we were dubious about whether tenants really value this idea of community in an institutional housing model.

Our journey with Smith Collective and Realm Caulfield continues to illuminate ongoing tenant requests for more gathering spaces, celebration and leisure areas, and precinctwide experiences. Despite their different market positioning, a sense of community is undoubtedly what defines both of these BTR offerings.

Therefore, the responsibility falls back on us as designers to create an aspirational and cohesive environment supporting this idea of community for people from all walks of life. As we further establish our BTR portfolio across Australia, ARM brings expertise in retail, education, public and cultural projects where a sense of place is critical. This collective multi-sector experience is what differentiates ARM from other BTR players.

DESIGNING TO SECURE LONG-TERM TENURE

“Why can’t we take the key learnings from our globally recognised public and civic projects and apply these to a residential context?"

This design mindset has seen ARM chart a refreshing new trajectory in the BTR landscape informed by a framework of challenging narratives and conceptual ideas. Through this approach, we have seamlessly balanced innovative design, premium amenities and ‘everyday’ functionality in an outcome that not only exceeds client expectations but earns longterm tenant loyalty.

If the aim of BTR is to secure longterm tenure, the developer needs to consider the fact that people are going to have different requirements at different stages of life. This is where we believe the size and diversity of the apartment offerings become an essential consideration.

As families grow and incomes and demographics change, it is naïve for developers to persist with rigid apartment sizes and layouts that simply don’t accommodate for changing lifestyles. ARM sees the next evolution in BTR to be based around a much broader offering, and one that adapts to the tenant’s changing lifestyle and circumstances.

TENANT AS ‘CUSTOMER’

We constantly refer back to the idea that the tenant becomes the ‘customer’ in the BTR market. They are therefore empowered to shop around until they find a suitable offering that reflects their personal values and lifestyle choices.

The design outcome must therefore reflect this notion of the empowered tenant. It must possess a standard of quality, diversity in size and scale options, and a world-class level of amenity that wins tenant loyalty through a sense of belonging and community.

ARM undertakes extensive research into local cultures and demographics of each BTR development we work on. We take time to engage with a range of community stakeholders to better understand the social and cultural specifics of a particular area. We believe this stakeholder engagement process and research strategies are vital to creating successful BTR assets that are authentic to place and person. Market level aside, we believe there is very little difference between the inherent structural models of different BTR offerings; from affordable housing to luxury apartments, through to retirement living. Each asset is defined by shared amenities and a sense of community. The difference is all in how they are branded and marketed to the tenant, the ‘customer’.

Designing For The Future Of Btr

As industry pioneers, we believe it is also our responsibility to develop a more sustainable future for BTR developments. High NABERS ratings, repurposed materials, comprehensive recycling models, enhanced ventilation systems and a significant portion of greenspaces are no longer ‘good to have’ in a BTR development. They are mandatory inclusions most tenants demand from an asset.

Our hope for Australia’s BTR sector is that it evolves into a truly sustainable model under our design leadership. Design outcomes must satisfy both the client and tenant’s expectations to see BTR’s perform well over time, surpassing older models which appear to have a shorter and more disposable lifespan.

TRADITIONALLY IN AUSTRALIA, WE’VE THOUGHT ABOUT RENTING AS SOMETHING PEOPLE DO BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO. BUT THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE IS CHANGING, AND THAT’S BECOMING CLEARER IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF TENANTS. A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL RENT FOR CHOICE; MAYBE THEY DON’T WANT A MORTGAGE, OR THEY WANT TO MAINTAIN FLEXIBILITY IN THEIR LIFESTYLE. THE BTR MODEL IS A SOLUTION TO THESE TENANT REQUIREMENTS.