Recently leaders from technology and the multifamily gathered in Tampa, Florida for an event called “Building Cities of the Future”, A CRE and Urbantech Summit.
Tampa is already on its journey to becoming a smarter city, and thus was the perfect setting for this event. The one day event was designed to bring together executives and founders who are reshaping the Built Environment and it was produced by Bisnow and Dreamit.
Some of the featured speakers from technology included Dan Doctoroff Chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs and Felicite Moorman, CEO and co-founder of STRATIS. As well as business leaders like Jeff Vinik Chairman of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Partner of Strategic Property Partners, LLC; James Nozar, CEO of Strategic Property Partners; Steve Barsh, CIO of Dreamit, and more.
The event featured 35 speakers and 4 keynotes speeches aimed at driving development in commercial real estate through innovative means.
“No great city was ever completely and truly planned,” Doctoroff said. “The neighborhood of the future can look a lot like the city of the past - teeming with life. Safe, defense, diverse places with a hyper-dynamic sense of community.”
Moorman had the following insights for the audience about IoT, Smart Cities, and software as a servicer (SaaS).
a) IoT – The return on investment for technology investment is faster and more accessible than ever, oft times weeks, and the time to start is NOW!
b) Smart Cities – The commercial residential footprint of NYC is nearly 60 percent. Anyone who thinks they’re going to create a a is missing half the puzzle!
c) Access, Energy, and Automation software –
Access applications for Smart Cities are endless, and the privacy and security concerns must remain front of mind, but they are not insurmountable. Understanding when people are leaving residences is a tremendous data point from a city planning perspective.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Vinik outlined plans for creating a venture capital fund with as much as $50 million or more to support startup entrepreneurs, some with direct grants. That, he believes, would make it the largest fund of its kind in Florida.”
The Times also reported that “Vinik outlined plans to build an "innovation hub" on the second floor of Channelside Bay Plaza. He expects it to occupy 40,000 to 75,000 square feet of space — or 20 to 40 percent of the building — and take 12 to 18 months to create.”
The UrbanTech Summit reflects the commitment of its participants to increase the adoption rates of technology, which currently stand at less than 10%, in an industry with over $40 trillion in the US alone.
“If STRATIS could flip a switch and install ubiquitously across the globe, we could immediately reduce energy savings by 15-20% and more, while providing a real and near immediate return on investment,” Moorman said. “Today. There should be a greater urgency in installing and embracing that which we know works today. The single digits of savings we’ll achieve as we continue to progress are minuscule compared to what we can do right now.”
Moorman added that Insurers are finally getting interested in IoT.
“Insurers may be the biggest winners in the short term. Consider that in MultiFamily, if a Resident doesn’t immediately catch an incident of fire or water damage, that incident will affect other units,” she said. “Leak sensing and smoke detection are tremendous opportunities to mitigate those damages and reduce loss.”
Bisnow, a commercial real estate news and events platform, and Dreamit Ventures, a top-10 global accelerator, have committed to leveraging their reach within the commercial real estate industry to impact change through driving collaboration across commercial real estate ecosystem.