TEN Takeaways from Susi Yu, Principal and Head of Development at MAG Partners
HILO’s David Abrams hosted Susi Yu, Principal and Head of Development at MAG Partners to chat about connecting residents to their community. Here are a few of our takeaways:
Marrying design and development
Susi Yu shares that her journey began in architecture, soon after taking a leap of faith and switching careers to become a developer. When David asks Susi what helped her to become successful, she explains that the main factor was “marrying the understanding of how important design is, to the actual understanding of the design, importance of design to the actual realization of development.” She continues to explain that having the ability to drive the development and design process means that she must balance the architect’s creative plans with meeting the project’s financial goals.
Work your way up
When David asks Susi how she got started, she tells the story of how she worked her way up to the top. “I did the Columbia program, and the second semester of Columbia MSRED Program was actually an internship for credit, and I was hired at Forest City to be the intern. They were designated as the developer for the New York Times building, and Bob Stern’s office had actually written the design use guideline for 42nd street. So having the design background was helpful, and then I stayed there, I started after school, school ended, I started there as a project manager, worked my way up, eventually head of the development of Forest City Ratner Companies, and then when they were acquired by Brookfield, I left with the CEO of Forest City and then started MAG Partners.”
Importance of a meritocratic environment
When discussing the importance of mentorship, Susi reflects on her positive experience with Bruce Ratner and the diverse and inclusive environment he created. She continues to explain that “he had a woman as the chief financial officer who then became the chief operating officer, the head controller was a woman, the general counsel was a woman, you know, so you saw women in these leadership roles and there were women with families, right? It wasn’t like women who didn’t have families, didn’t have to manage, you know, all the different aspects of being a woman and not also having a career. I always call it with Bruce, it didn’t matter what color or what education you had if you came through the ring of fire with Bruce…”
Connection to community
Like HILO, Susi believes that creating a connection between the building, its occupants and the local community is incredibly important. When David asks her where she’d spend an extra budget of $100k, she explains that she would “try to connect the residents to the community and maybe start some sort of building base mentorship with the local community.” Susi continues to tell us that “people in their 20’s and 30’s want more than the pet, the spa, the pool, the uber gym. I think they want something more in their lives that connects them through community, that allows them to really participate in social justice, local community, and so, I would try to take that $100,000 and figure out a program that really connects them to the community that our buildings are in.”
Creativity is sparked in person
When asked about the future of the commercial real estate industry, Susi explains that “tech companies realize that they need to provide flexibility because they need to keep talent. But at the same time, they also know that they need to bring the talent together to create that synergy for that unicorn moment.” Susi continues to express that the best creative ideas are sparked “when we’re together as creative creatures, that’s when the action happens.”
Space organization is changing
Looking towards the future of office space, Susi believes that “we do have to be sensitive to people’s concerns about health and related to themselves, as well as their families, so I think we’re going to see a lot of things changing, right? In terms of the actual need, the type of offices they’re going to need, right? It’s almost like you need more like enclosed space, but then you also need like bigger gathering spaces because you don’t want people to be sitting like one foot apart, you know, I think people are uncomfortable with that, so I think, how the space is going to be used is different, and I think end of the day, actual needs are not going to shrink, I fundamentally believe, it’s just going to be organized in a different way.”
Nature is now
When David asks Susi what she believes will define and deliver the best tenant experience in 2021 and beyond, she tells him that “our connection to nature is going to become and continue to become more and more important, so, when we’re looking at and designing buildings, we look at every single horizontal surface to see how we can create private outdoor spaces, as well as public outdoor spaces for the residents, and how do we program those outdoor spaces.”
Create a sense of sanctuary
Susi believes that using technology to create a touchless pathway is very important for the tenant and resident experience. She explains that “from literally the moment you are outside of our building, through your apartment, so that everything is operated through your phone, you can, you know, call the elevator with the door, you can open the door with your phone, the entry door, you can open the amenities with your phone, you can open your apartment door, so, lot of these things, where you sort of create, a sense of sanctuary for your residents, I think is really, really important.”
Use natural materials
When creating the best possible customer experience, connecting people to nature is becoming an essential component. Susi tells us that “this connection to nature needs to really occur from the moment that you step into your building and throughout, so I’m a huge proponent of using natural materials, natural light, lots of our greenery, landscape outdoor, opportunities, to really, like orchestrate a person’s procession from the moment they enter, the building lobby, through when they either go to their office floor or even through the apartment.”
Material pricing is breeding market uncertainty
In light of current circumstances, Susi projects that the increase in material pricing will continue to promote market uncertainty. She shares that “developers are going to say, you know what, we cannot absorb, you know, a significant increase in pricing, we’re going to stop building, we’re going to wait, right? And then once the jobs dry up, the power, right? Is going to shift, but I think we’re sort of headed into that trajectory because, you know, if your material pricing is essentially double what you had assumed, the project no longer works financially.” She continues to explain that “there’s an interesting moment right now that if you’re building, you’re going to think twice about building in a project that you’re looking at, you’re going to wait until the pricing stabilizes because there’s a lot of uncertainty in the market right now.”
