Felicite Moorman remembers receiving a call from a multifamily property manager whose building was struggling with its thermostat system. “For one thing, the system wasn’t designed for multifamily; for another thing, the system had very little property management control capability,” she recalls.
The year was 2013, and Moorman was CEO of BuLogics, which specializes in providing wireless solutions for the Internet of Things. Her company had just launched StratIS, a wireless access, energy, and automation control, whose app gives property owners and managers the ability to create setbacks on thermostats and heating systems.
In short order, StratIS has made an imprint on the market. In 2014, it established a partnership with Jonathan Rose Companies, a green real estate policy, development, project management and investment firm, through which StratIS installed its pilot systems. Last year, StratIS struck a partnership with the door hardware manufacturer Schlage, which had introduced its Schlage Control Smart Locks that are designed for multifamily property owners, and whose ENGAGE technology enables lock control from the cloud via mobile applications that are compatible with StratIS’s access platform.
By late November 2015, StratIS had at least one of its products in 72,000 multifamily and hotel units in between 250 and 300 buildings. Moorman tells BD+C that between 14,000 and 20,000 of those units are student housing built by American Campus Communities. StratIS’s products also found their way into student housing developed and managed by Campus Apartments.
StratIS markets its software through distributors, integrators, and installers. “We give them something extra to sell,” says Moorman. She adds that StratIS’s products are relatively easy to install in new builds or renovations, with minimal resident disruption. “We precommission everything, which cuts down on the [complexity] of installation. I also test everything on my seven-year-old, and if she can’t use it, we try to figure out what happened.”
Property managers have the option of allowing renters to download StratIS’s thermostat-control app as part of their lease agreement.
Moorman says the next horizon for StratIS could be key cards, although she concedes there is far greater potential liability using this kind of technology for access into multifamily homes than in hotels. Longer term, Moorman sees opportunities for StratIS developing access- and HVAC-control products for the single-family housing market, which she acknowledges will be more competitive.
Related Stories
Market Data | Aug 19, 2019
Multifamily market sustains positive cycle
Year-over-year growth tops 3% for 13th month. Will the economy stifle momentum?
Giants 400 | Aug 15, 2019
Top 140 Multifamily Sector Architecture Firms for 2019
Humphreys & Partners, KTGY, SCB, CallisonRTKL, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest multifamily sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 12, 2019
Multifamily Amenities 2019: Rethinking the $30,000 cup of coffee
What amenities are “must-have” rather than “nice to have” for the local market? Which amenities will attract the renters or buyers you’re targeting? The 2019 Multifamily Amenities Survey measured 113 amenity choices.
| Aug 9, 2019
Whirlpool Debuts Smart All-In-One Washer and Dryer
Whirlpool washer and dryer in one machine can provide laundering solutions in apartments with limited space.
| Aug 9, 2019
'Buildings Don't Lie': A building science reference book worth your time and money
Review of "Buildings Don't Lie," by engineer Henry Gifford.
| Aug 8, 2019
Wilsonart Engineered Surfaces to acquire Czech firm Technistone
U.S. manufacturer Wilsonart, maker of High Pressure Laminate, Quartz, Solid Surface, Coordinated TFL and Edgebanding products, moves to acquire Technistone.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 7, 2019
New start, new life, new friends: Student residence life in the age of Instagram
When it comes to the design and space planning of your residence life program, the quality of the space you create will be reflected in the social media feeds of your students.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 6, 2019
Using P3s to create affordable housing, public services
How the city of Chicago and nonprofit groups partnered to build three libraries plus affordable housing in underserved neighborhoods.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 3, 2019
A plant—or at least its image—grows in Brooklyn
A 90-foot mural overlooks the courtyard of a new residential building.
| Aug 2, 2019
Closet System Adds Value to Grand Rapids Apartment Community
20 Fulton Street East is a 12-story residential community in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., developed by Brookstone Realty Management, where Organized Living's closet system was installed by dealer Rayhaven Group.