New York Deal Making event took place between December 10-12 in the Javits Center in New York’s Hudson Yards neighborhood.

I remember walking through New York’s Hudson Yards a decade ago and saw nothing but a poorly developed piece of very expensive land. What a difference few years can make! Hudson Yards is booming with construction and is transforming into a new swanky „place to be” in NYC. New York Deal Making has become one of the most important deal making events attracting developers, owners, leasing and property managers from all across the country. It provides the opportunity for attendees to gain information about current industry trends, meet and interact with colleagues doing business in the same region and make deals. The theme of this year’s event was “New Trends. New Tenants. New Technology.” Old school New York Deal Makers can no longer ignore the inevitable: tech innovators are transforming the retail experience for everybody.

The focus from the retail point of view has been on 5G technology and how it will impact and improve the retail experience. With 5G in wide use, merchants will have access to ultra-high-speed internet of capacities that open up a range of new facilities. This includes increased sales for retailers due to increased connectivity speeds, and new IoT opportunities from new devices that can improve customer engagement through, for example, increasingly interactive mobile apps.

I had the opportunity to speak with dozens of property managers, leasing agents, directors of development, and independent consultants. One of the questions I asked frequently was, “How is 5G and IoT technology absorbed in retail from the facility management side?” Most property and facility managers I talked two can be categorized into three buckets: those that would like to have such solutions but don’t know where to turn, those that have an older outdated technology, or those who say they are too small to invest in such technology. However, almost all of them acknowledged the fact that such technology is not only needed but a must for large retail properties for its facility management services.

During one of the discussion panels I met an individual that helped me answer few questions from a “proptech perspective” – concept that is both exciting and scary to many in the audience. Proptech companies, such as Velis Real Estate Tech, are transforming the way commercial real estate owners and managers operate their businesses. Proptech solution, Velis’ Singu FM platform, allows building owners and managers control large retail complexes with one simple application. Particularly important for tenants is internal communication between all parties involved in daily operations within the building. With the help of 5G network, mobile applications streamline communication between technicians and tenants, thus reporting and repairing building failures is much faster. Tenants can also quickly download relevant documents, instructions and regulations, to stay up to date with news concerning various facilities. In addition, contact information to the most important people working in your building is right at their fingertips.

The platform uses IoT and connects objects, devices, buildings or any other items connected to the internet. The IoT technology can be used for both planned and preventive maintenance which allows receiving real-time information as soon as the problem appears in the building. A growing grid of sensors connected with each other and placed throughout a facility turn into valuable and useful information for the facility managers. Consequently, the facility managers can be everywhere and at any time. For example, the IoT technology provides communication with subcontractors and helps to understand how tenants use a facility. Using a web-based platform the facility managers can manage a number of properties in one place.

The availability of technologies has compelled retailers to undertake a paradigm shift from profits-first approach to a consumer-centric operational model. Owners and managers must first invest in technologies in order to attract the best tenants. Over the past few years, in residential real estate we have seen a massive push for so called, “amenities” to attract the best tenants. In commercial real estate, it will be the “IoT technology” that will make properties stand out.