Building Stronger Communities with Real Estate Development

Real estate development is not just about building structures; it’s about creating and nurturing communities. Successful real estate developers understand the importance of community engagement and are committed to creating projects that benefit both the community and the developer. This requires balancing the competing priorities that must be realized as part of a development project, including community benefits, technical constraints, and economic realities that set boundaries around sustainability, affordability, and viability. At Aultrust, we follow a set of simple principles to help us achieve this balance:

• • Design Input: We proactively approach community engagement, seeking opportunities to build relationships and addressing community concerns. Design input is a key component of our public engagement mantra. The process starts early so we can incorporate our findings and input into our design process. (beginning with the end in mind)

• • Effective Community Contribution: Community benefits are often better served through creative structures that are more than cash contributions. We often find we can deliver many more multiples on investment for the community and residents through partnerships with the local government and the non-profit community. (thinking win-win)

• • Product Market Fit: A clear understanding of the resident’s needs is essential for successful projects; the citizens will occupy these buildings. Aultrust invests heavily in capturing the community’s housing needs, not with an eye to profit maximization but with a sharp focus on the socially sustainable and responsible product that fits the community’s needs today and in the future. (seeking first to understand, then to be understood)

• • Open-mindedness: Aultrust is committed to continually improving its real estate development skills and knowledge, keeping up with industry best practices and new trends in design, construction, and sustainability. This includes investing in the training and development of our team members and staying up-to-date on emerging technologies and practices in the real estate development field. (sharpening the saw)

Community benefits are paramount for us as we aim to ensure local plans and demographic trends align. Additionally, in striving for environmental sustainability, we believe in local hiring. The best curators are local stakeholders.

Innovative solutions to the age-old affordability problem require challenging the status quo persistently, regularly, and carefully, but for the community. Strength comes in numbers; we ensure the community and the developers operating within it are privy to this.