RECODE PART 3
ATTRACTING NEW TENANTS Having identified potential tenant groups, the next question is how the apartments should be refurbished to appeal to them. Before providing recommendations on this topic, however, it is worthwhile to draw attention to several other points related to attracting tenants.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD IMAGE The analysis provided so far has focused on the micro-level of the vacant apartments on the one hand and the macro-level of Kiel and GaardenOst on the other. Yet the space in the middle should also be kept in mind. This space, which is of key importance, may be termed the Chronos neighbourhood within Gaarden-Ost. As has been discussed, one of the main challenges for Chronos is the negative image of Gaarden-Ost. It goes without saying that it is beyond Chronos’s reach to improve the image of Gaarden-Ost as a whole - yet as is described in this guide, much can certainly be done to improve the image of the Chronos neighbourhood. This, in turn, will add value to the apartments.
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SERVICES AND OTHER OFFERINGS The recommendations provided in this guide aim not just to improve the image of the Chronos neighbourhood but to do this through the enhancement of tenant well-being, not only for current tenants but also for new tenants. By improving tenants’ day-to-day lives in the neighbourhood - for instance by dealing with the problem of rubbish (section 4), ensuring higher service levels (section 5) and igniting the community by means of novel initiatives (section 6) - Chronos will enhance the value of the vacant apartments in as concrete a fashion as by means of physical refurbishment such as improving the plumbing.
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APARTMENT & NEIGHBOURHOOD REFURBISHMENT The fact is that the two refurbishments - of the apartments and the overall neighbourhood - should be viewed as two components of the same change process which mutually support each other. The neighbourhood refurbishment will improve the image and day-to-day reality of the area and therefore add value to the apartments for new tenants - whilst new tenants who bring with them higher expectations and aspirations will help the neighbourhood to restore its damaged social fabric and move beyond the limiting consciousness of ‘ok’. One final point needs to be made in this respect: just as it was argued in section 2 that the overall refurbishment should build on the neighbourhood values, so the apartment refurbishment should support the same values: anchoring Local Identity by providing people with an attractive home base, bolstering diversity by catering for different tenants with different lifestyles; and supporting sustainability by incorporating sustainable solutions in the apartment refurbishment wherever possible. In conclusion: it is clear that attracting new tenants depends not only on the apartments themselves, but also on a variety of other factors that Chronos can incorporate into its marketing strategy. Having emphasised this essential point, attention will now be focused on the apartments and on how they can be refurbished to appeal to new tenants.