Devon Management

Housing the Hudson Valley

By Leah Etling on Apr 28, 2014 in People

With its existing portfolio made up primarily of tax-credit affordable housing for seniors, New York’s Devon Management is now expanding into affordable properties that will house all ages. In the next few years, the company’s holdings will nearly double with the addition of 1,000 units in the Hudson Valley.

“We’re just addressing the same dearth of affordable housing that’s present in every community in America,” said Paul Gratzel, Chief Operating Officer for Devon Management and its sister companies, MJJ Builders and Warwick Properties. The three-tiered approach means that one arm of the company – owned by Jonah Mandelbaum and his wife, Donna Applegate – is involved in every phase of a housing project, from siting and funding, to construction, to management.

With vast experience and success in single-family subdivision development, Mandelbaum and Applegate turned to the affordable sector about 15 years ago and have built 13 properties with 1300 units thus far. They readily partner with other regional organizations serving populations that often struggle with housing, including the working poor and the disabled.

“The new direction we’re proceeding in will be inter-generational. The communities will house a combination of seniors, workforce, family housing with set asides for the mentally disabled,” said Paul Gratzel. A real estate veteran with more than 20 years’ experience in the commercial, resort development, new urbanism and architectural sectors, Gratzel applies a pragmatic vision to what can become a complicated development process.

Partnerships with the non-profit organizations, including Occupations, Inc., and Gateway, Inc.,  have been a vital part of Devon Management’s overall vision. The groups provide the supportive social services component necessary for residents in need. Living in a stable environment is typically the foundation toward success with such programs, which provide job opportunities for the mentally handicapped and other life skills assistance.

“Providing affordable housing starts with caring for individual tenants, but moves beyond that to a commitment to communities as a whole. It is important to focus not only on the quality of home you provide residents but also the resulting quality of life they will have,” Mandelbaum said in a recent interview.

To help hold down costs, Devon Management works with a lean back-office staff.  As their expansion was planned, the company faced increasing technology needs in accounting, reporting, compliance, database storage and resident services. With a bulky, aging and proprietary software system, they looked for new solutions that would ease their workload and decided to implement Yardi Voyager 7S.

“For us, one of the largest benefits, aside from having a platform that is broad and robust enough to handle our growth, is the fact that we finally now have a fully integrated system. Having everything we need, all part of the same system, is phenomenal,” Gratzel said.

As their tenant base expands, the newest Devon residents will expect increased access to technology conveniences, including the ability to pay rent online, communicate with management and submit maintenance requests or work orders without picking up the phone. The company is considering expanding its use of the Yardi platform to meet those needs.

Though they have only been fully implemented on Voyager 7S for the first quarter of 2014, Gratzel said it has already improved back office efficiency and cohesive communication with each of Devon Management’s 13 existing properties.

“I’ve been impressed with the Yardi support, and the software itself I think has been everything we expected it to be.”