Investing in technology for today's resident.

Plasma television screens that span entire wails; refrigerators that restock themselves; robot "maids" that vacuum your home while you're away. Sound like a scene from the old "Jetsons" cartoon series? No, this is just a snapshot of the latest developments of in-home technology. But just what technology will emerge on the horizon tomorrow? What do residents of multi-family properties really want and use? What do owners and managers need to provide to best prepare and provide for the future of residential gadgets and gizmos?

The only constant in residential technology is change. There will always be new "must-have" devices every holiday season. The best a residential developer, owner or manager can do is prepare for the future by investing today in the infrastructure necessary to drive this inevitable rush of new technology. So what does that mean?

At a minimum, it means preparing an apartment home with the basic pathways that will be necessary for tomorrow's technology For instance, what good is a $10,000 big-screen plasma television if the reception available does not allow for the high definition signals that will dominate the airwaves a decade from now?

In the past, owners and managers were laced with a choice of forming long-term agreements with a variety of service providers in exchange for outside installation and maintenance of all equipment and wiring or committing to the capital investment and human resources necessary to create and maintain their own telecommunications delivery systems.

But with the recent shake-out in the telecommunications industry that has resulted in less capital available to invest and fewer choices of reliable providers, owners of luxury multifamily properties such as Roseland are compelled to invest in the future of their crucial "last mile" of telecommunications infrastructure to insure they are able to provide a convenient, effective "plug and play" environment for the delivery of services most demanded by their targeted demographics.

Roseland Property Company has been responsible for designing building financing maintaining selling and leasing more than 50 amenity-rich apartment, townhome communities, as well as "for-sale" single-family homes and active adult communities. Roseland community has more than $250 million in development projects wider construction, and has ownership and management responsibilities in a variety of partnerships that operate in excess of $1 billion in properties in the Northeast corridor, which spans from Boston to Philadelphia.

For the purposes of this article, we will focus on high-end properties targeting young professionals and their families, as well as affluent empty-nesters looking for luxury amenities in both urban and suburban settings. These residents demand premium services with convenient, reliable access, and are best served by management that negotiates bulk contracts with the area's leading providers. This demographic is often on the cutting edge of home entertainment and computing technology, demanding a "superhighway" of connectivity to meet their telecommunications needs.

Still, there is a fine line between what these residents say they want, and what they are willing to pay for. In deciding what bulk services top, owners and managers should be mindful of striking a balance that is both cost-effective and that provides the greatest options for resident-financed upgrades.

At Roseland, we have examined the most sought-alter inhome amenities for luxury renters and developed a technology package that is now part of the standard offering at all of our new communities. Called RoseLink[R], the result is an interactive network with enhanced data, video, sound, telephone and intrusion alarm technology that combines high-speed shared broadband Internet access with DIRECTV[R] satellite television, built-in Surround Sound speakers in living rooms, four-line telephone wiring intrusion alarms and a host of computerized valet and maintenance services - all starting at approximately $100 a month. Roseland is the first management company to offer this high-quality, comprehensive bundle of services to residents in rental communities in the New York City area

We believe that RoseLink[R] not only makes our properties more desirable to residents, but also makes good economic sense. Economies of scale have allowed us to provide the most desired services such as digital satellite television and broadband Internet access at a significant reduction to market rates. In addition, since these technology services are built-in to each apartment home, our program allows residents to not only avoid delays in acquiring them, but to assure the quality of installation, equipment and customer service.

Because our properties employ a digital satellite system that is connected to every apartment home, unsightly individual dishes and potential fluctuation in installation quality have been avoided. As with our broadband Internet connections, the RoseLink[R] program avoids potential damage to our rental properties by providing at me "plug and play" environment for our residents without the hassles and risk inherent when dealing with multiple outside providers who come in and change wiring and create other issues.

Because these services are included as part of the rent; Roseland Management has been able to negotiate favorable rates for these sought-after amenities which could cost a minimum of $150 a month each if arranged by the individual resident

In addition to the latest in video entertainment services and blazing Internet connections for today's "tele-commuting" culture, RoseLink[R] also makes home security more affordable for residents through a system of monitored intrusion alarms. For a faction of what today's central station monitored alarm systems cost, these intrusion alarms provide an added peace of mind for our residents.'

The lifeblood of all in-home technology is still in the wiring. All of our properties have fiber backbones with plenty of spare capacity. Each one incorporates the latest in structured wiring. This includes RG-6 for video and Category Se cabling for phone and data, providing the capability of four telephone lines, high-speed Ethernet and digital TV in every room in the home. In today's world, the use of a standardized based structured wiring solution incorporating Category Se cable provides a significant upgrade to Category 3, and the cost difference is negligible, according to Richard Holtz, President of InfiniSys, Inc, RoseLink[R] Electronic Architect.

Installation of built-in Surround Sound speakers in the living rooms of our newest development at Riverside West at Port Imperial enhances the home entertainment experience. The pre-wired speakers provide the back two channels for the standard five-speaker Surround Sound configuration, allowing residents to easily install a variety of audio-visual components without unsightly wires.

From an owner's perspective, this one-time installation also saves labor costs expended on repairing holes made by repeated amateur installations.

The use of a certified structured wiring installation provides for a 15-year warranty on the cables. When the digital satellite system, alarm systems and broadband Internet connectivity are maintained by an outside contractor, equipment and maintenance expenditures are kept to a minimum. The size of the Roseland Management portfolio also insures competitive pricing on these services into the future.

Owners of upscale multi-family properties need to understand the value proposition of investing in their telecommunications infrastructure and taking control of the technological destinies of their communities. In Roseland's high-end luxury rental portfolio, we believe this is best achieved by creating and maintaining a standards-based delivery system for the most desired services of today, as well as the capability to deliver those just on the horizon.