Ask Habitat: Taking Control of Lobby Resdesign
July 7, 2014 — A BUYER ASKS: The lobby in our co-op looks terrible. It’s dark, outdated, and even Goodwill won’t take the couches. The board is afraid of starting a war by jumping headlong into such a controversial upgrade, but something needs to be done. How can we, as owners, convince the board to redo the lobby? And after that, what should be done by the board to make this process as painless as possible?
HABITAT ANSWERS: A truism by managers is that if the board wants to increase attendance at its annual meeting, announce that the lobbies are being redone. Guaranteed, it will be an SRO event.
As an owner, recognize that nothing in co-op or condo life is as controversial as lobby redesign: If there are 100 apartment units, there will be at least 101 opinions on what the end result should be. This is enough to make many boards steer clear of lobby renovation proposals altogether. But as an owner wanting to sell, it is important that you take the right steps to convince your board that it is in everyone’s interest to upgrade, especially if the lobby is as rundown as yours seems to be.
First: Is It Needed?
Get consensus that the lobby actually needs to be renovated. Ask a realtor or two if you are losing sales because your lobby is turning people off. Take the pulse of shareholders: who thinks the lobby needs to be restored?
Take this information to the board and offer to serve on a lobby redesign committee. Or better yet, volunteer to chair it. The board will love to have someone else take the heat if things go bad; and if everything works out OK, the board can take credit for its savvy in creating the committee.
Next, assemble a team of five individuals with different but complementary skills. Five will be more representative of the various residents. Be clear upfront that each participant needs to commit to seeing this project all the way through. Populate the design team with people who have good but different tastes. A variety of design sensibilities will keep things fluid and guarantee that choices don’t become “vanilla.” Try to include at least one person who is experienced in home design, home staging, or architecture.
Form Follows Function
Determine what function the lobby should serve. Is it for lounging or for expediting residents and guests quickly and comfortably from the street to their own homes? Ask your neighbors what they think. Speak to the staff. Find out what would help them be more efficient. Talk to your managing agent. What are best practices?
Walk your neighborhood and visit other buildings’ lobbies. Start meeting with designers. Get projected budgets, timelines, and a sense for how well they’ll work with you. Once your design is approved, it’s up to the board to line up contractors and vendors and keep the shareholders involved and up to date on any delays or unexpected costs. After the renovation is complete, let local real estate brokers know that you’ve had work done. Who knows? Maybe all the hard work will pay off with an extra sale!
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