Multifamily Experts Provide Coronavirus Best Practices in Connect Media Webinar

The explosion of the novel coronavirus disease, officially known as COVID-19, has prompted a lot of media attention and information, from reasonable and practical, to ridiculous. In an effort to calm the waters from a commercial real estate perspective, Connect Media hosted a webinar, “Industry Leaders on Preparing CRE Assets for Coronavirus Threat.”  The 40-minute webinar tapped into all commercial real estate sectors, providing reliable information and best practices.

When it came to such information for multifamily properties, Julianne B. Goodfellow with the National Multifamily Housing Council, and Laura Boyd with Pinnacle Property Management Services, agreed that the one important tool during this crisis is communication. To that end, the NMHC has several resources, available to members and nonmembers at www.nmhc.org/covid19.

“Unfortunately, in this day and age, we have a lot of information out there, but not all of it is right,” said Boyd, who is Pinnacle’s Property Risk Program Manager. “We’re trying to make sure they (residents) get as much right information as they can, so they can make educated decisions.”

In addition to what the NMHC provides, the “right” information comes courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), local governments, and the NMHC among others, Boyd continued. “We look at the CDC, we look at the World Health Organization. We have properties in Canada, and are looking at public services up there,” Boyd commented. “Across all of those mediums, we’re getting consistent messages as well. Wash your hands. Use sanitary products with 60% alcohol.”

As for the NMHC, Goodfellow suggested that, when it comes to apartment common spaces, signage is a large help. “You want to remind people to wash, if they’re using the fitness center, wash their hands before and after using the space, providing them to wipe down their equipment once they’ve used it,” said Goodfellow, who is senior director, government affairs.

She went on to suggest that owners and managers need to remind residents they shouldn’t use public spaces if they’re feeling ill, have symptoms, or have been exposed to COVID-19. “Ultimately,” Goodfellow noted, “given the scope of risk and considering how likely an outbreak is in your area, we would not rule out closing a fitness center or other common space, if needed.”

Both Goodfellow and Boyd noted that enhanced cleaning from maintenance crews is important, “which means surfaces, elevator buttons, handrails and doorknobs,” Boyd noted.

Goodfellow suggested something else, namely that prevention and protection be approached through an overall state of preparedness. “Be sure you develop an incident response plan, with a crisis team in place. It should include folks in the C-Suite, legal, HR, IT and operations,” she advised. “This crisis team can look like one you have for hurricanes or other natural disasters. Approach it as you would any other risk, and be prepared.”

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Amy Sorter