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— Property Management Quarterly — November 2015
develop our talent through a number
of internal and external education
programs, including BLDG-U, a pro-
gram for which all of our teammem-
bers are encouraged to self-advocate
and never stop learning.We have had
tremendous success with these initia-
tives and created opportunity for our
employees. Along the way, we found
that these programs foster loyalty,
sound decision-making and, ultimate-
ly, increase the performance of our
properties.
I am excited to be seated at a table
where the leadership is balanced
between men and women, and where
bold ideas are embraced and encour-
aged. It’s an exciting environment
where passion and excellence are
spotlighted and our team knows they
have real opportunity for growth.
This is a step in the right direction for
women in real estate, and I am hon-
ored to play a part in narrowing the
wage gap for women. It is encouraging
that there is so much attention being
given to this subject, and I believe
more women will find property man-
agement is an avenue for achieving
financial success.
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label on a piece of fruit means,
they usually understand. When you
ask them what a LEED “label” on a
building means, they usually do not.
If more occupants understood what
the certification means in terms
of certifying healthy building prac-
tices, perhaps the demand would
further penetrate the market.
The easiest of these to overcome
is cost, and that is one factor driv-
ing the new Dynamic Plaque plat-
form discussed in the BOMA spot-
light in the Sept. 16 Colorado Real
Estate Journal issue.
Dynamic Plaque is significantly
cheaper than traditional recertifica-
tion, and potentially will be rolled
out as a path for new O+M certifi-
cations in the coming years. If the
cost can be reduced, the documen-
tation largely nullified by instead
measuring performance indicators,
and the platform is easy to imple-
ment, perhaps smaller buildings
and other market sectors (outside
of office) will buy in to the certifica-
tion.
Will the average person ever
understand what LEED means to
them? That’s a larger problem to
tackle, but one that is our respon-
sibility, as the adopters, to explain.
Getting occupants to understand
what your certification means, and
engaging them in sustainability ini-
tiatives, is the next frontier.
If the USGBC has met the cost
challenge, we can certainly meet
the people challenge. During your
next tenant breakfast, talk about
the plaque and the importance
of proper ventilation, which is a
prerequisite required for every
LEED-certified building. Talk about
the other initiatives pursued that
impact their health and well-
being. Provide this information in
tenant newsletters and start the
conversation.
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goes on a loop to Lower Downtown
during the lunch hours. Customer
service extends beyond parking to
include tenant anniversary gifts and
follow-up calls after completed work
orders.
But with this passion to please
comes the most challenging part of
the job, which is not being able to
solve everyone’s problems. “No con-
trol freak can control everything,”
he said. “It’s a bad day when I can’t
solve it all.”
However, Weisenstein insists that
his success is based on his team.
“The biggest thing I can say is that
I do very little,” he said. “I hire and
sign things and oversee a bit, but
mostly my team does everything.”
When Weisenstein began manag-
ing, his current assistant manager,
Wendi Malone, handled administra-
tive duties. Another member of the
staff, current chief engineer, Scott
Thomas, has worked in the building
since it opened. He now oversees a
team of five engineers and mainte-
nance technicians.
“I was incredibly impressed with
the team,”Weisenstein said. “They’re
rule followers, which in manage-
ment can be kind of rare. From day
one this was a well-organized team.”
His rapport with Malone is obvious
as the two joke about favorite colors
and decision-making abilities. The
team has expanded to include Sergio
Martinez, an administrative assis-
tant Weisenstein said he poached
from a vendor. CBRE handles the
building’s leasing.
“One of my jobs is keeping the
office fun,” he said. “A lot of the time
my staff’s job is to listen to what
people are unhappy about. You don’t
get too many calls just to tell you
what a great job you do. So I try to
make sure they know they’re appre-
ciated.”
While Weisenstein is humble and
jokes that all he does is sign papers,
it’s clear that his attention to detail
makes him an invaluable member of
the management team.
It is his job to know everyone in
the building, down to the names and
faces of the new valet employees.
During a parking lot inspection, a
new tenant’s car was mentioned.
After rattling off a list of the employ-
ees working for his newest tenants,
Weisenstein was visibly irked that
he didn’t know who the owner was.
A little while later he admitted that
it was still driving him crazy.
And while he thinks it’s important
for him to know everyone in the
building, he doesn’t want his ten-
ants to notice most of what they do.
“I don’t want my tenants to think
about all the components of my job,”
he said. “I just want them to come
here to do their job and walk right
past all the little things.”
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Wage Gap
Green
Weisenstein
