Driving NOI with Proptech: Designing Multifamily for Long-Term Performance

In the fast-evolving world of commercial real estate, balancing high-end architectural design with lean operational reality is the ultimate balancing act. On a recent episode of the Access Control Podcast, host Josh Hannum sat down with Brett West—Senior Director of Real Estate Development at Assurity Insurance and founder of West Development—to peel back the layers on how modern developers think about technology, operations, and the physical spaces they build.
With a unique background that spans from practicing architect to commercial developer and property manager, Brett offers a holistic view of where the rubber meets the road in multifamily real estate.
Here are the key takeaways from their conversation on maximizing net operating income (NOI), winning the "amenity war," and why access control is shifting from a security afterthought to a major financial driver.


1. Design First, but Make the Numbers Follow
For Brett, development always starts with the physical structure and neighborhood context. However, the modern market demands that design and financial proformas walk hand-in-hand.
"I'm always going to be a designer first, but I really do enjoy having the two or three screens up where you're looking at the numbers, running the numbers, tweaking the plan simultaneously." — Brett West
When building or renovating a property, the physical touchpoints dictate the perceived quality. Developers are shifting budgets away from institutional finishes and focusing dollars on what tenants interact with every single day—like entry sequences, high-quality hardware, and unit fixtures.


2. Winning the "Tour" with Unique Amenities
We are living in an era of hyper-competition for Class A apartment rentals. While core physical spaces remain highly similar across competing developments, winning a future resident over comes down to creating a memorable moment during the property tour.

• The Amenity Arms Race: Golf simulators, high-end saunas, and hospitality-driven lobby spaces are becoming the baseline for new developments.
• The Urban Hospitality Vibe: At innovative urban developments, like the 38th and Dodge project in Omaha, constraints like having no room for a pool are forcing developers to think creatively. Incorporating custom music formatting, curated lighting, and an integrated lobby coffee shop/bar experience creates an immediate brand identity that drives organic buzz.
• The Reality of Utilization: Interestingly, actual ongoing tenant usage of these massive amenities is historically low. But as a developer, you have to build them to check the boxes and secure the lease up front.

3. Combating Staffing Shortages with Property Management AI
One of the most profound shifts in modern multifamily operations is the labor crunch. Historically, property management relied on a strict staffing ratio: approximately one leasing agent per 100 units. Today, finding and retaining high-quality management talent is incredibly difficult.
The solution? Drastically leveraging technology to scale staff impact.
By integrating AI chatbots, automated texting, and sophisticated leasing software to handle initial inquiries and phone calls, developers are aiming to scale a single leasing professional across up to 800 units across scattered-site portfolios. Tenants routinely research, view, and verify properties entirely online, arriving at the physical space merely to sign. Operations must pivot to support this autonomous, frictionless consumer journey.


4. Smart Access Control: The Frictionless Frontier
Staffing limitations have completely altered day-to-day maintenance and leasing workflows. Property managers can no longer afford to manually hand physical keys to a new tenant on a Sunday afternoon.
Seamless Remote Credentialing
With smart access control, property managers can securely text a digital credential to a resident moving in over the weekend. The resident lets themselves in, handles their move-in autonomously, and the management team follows up on Monday morning with a personal touch, like a gift card to a local business.
The Tenant Experience ROI
The cost delta between installing a traditional "dumb" lock and a smart, connected lock is minimal compared to the long-term operational payoff. Tenant retention hinges heavily on minimizing daily friction. Clunky entry sequences, constant lockouts, or requiring residents to juggle 17 different smartphone apps to navigate their building creates immediate tenant frustration and vacancy risk.
Features like remote guest access, letting in dog walkers, or seamlessly unlocking an entry via a phone add measurable value that moves the needle on stabilizing a property during lease-up.


5. The Death of the Master Key: Risk & Insurance Liabilities
While proptech optimizes the front-end tenant experience, it is also solving a massive, hidden liability on the back-end: the master key system.
Traditional Master Key Lost = Absolute Operational Nightmare (Total building re-key required)
Smart Access Control Glitch = Immediate Remote Digital Reboot/Revocation
In mid-sized and major markets across the Midwest, insurance companies writing builder's risk and operational property insurance are beginning to tighten regulations. In cities like Kansas City and Des Moines, many insurance carriers are actively forcing communities to completely eliminate traditional physical master key programs to keep insurance premiums stable.
Losing a physical master key introduces an immediate, catastrophic security risk to a 250-unit asset. If a key goes missing, a property manager faces massive costs to physically replace every cylinder in the building. Smart access control mitigates this entirely, offering full visibility into who accessed what space and when, with the ability to instantly revoke credentials remotely.


The Verdict: Long-Term Infrastructure Wins
Whether managing high-end Class A properties or executing value-add plays on Class B and C affordable housing, retrofitting infrastructure later is an expensive nightmare. Spending thousands of dollars per door down the road to install whole-building Wi-Fi or changing failing hardware cuts directly into an asset's ultimate valuation.
The future belongs to operators who build timeless, reliable, and integrated hardware and software ecosystems from day one—protecting the tenant experience, optimizing lean staff, and ultimately defending the bottom line.


What proptech solutions have moved the needle most for your net operating income this year? Let us know in the comments below, or subscribe to the Asset Control Podcast for more insider developer insights!
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