Category: News

Exceptional Culture Focused on Associates Earns RPM Living a 2022 Best Place to Work Recognition by GlobeSt.com

RPM Living has received recognition for its outstanding culture and leadership, having been named a Best Place to Work for 2022 by GlobeSt.com. The list highlights organizations that achieve outstanding performance, stay on top of workforce trends, strive to accommodate staff, and offer transparent communication methods and thoughtful employee engagement programming, while continually earning respect from professionals. 

"After experiencing our largest year of growth ever, it’s an honor to be recognized as a GlobeSt. Best Place to Work. From the start, our associates have always been our main focus and a big part of our success.” said Jason Berkowitz, Founder and CEO of RPM. 

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, RPM has experienced tremendous success over the past two decades, and particularly in the last few years. In 2021, the full-service multifamily management company made the biggest leap on the National Multifamily Housing Council’s (NMHC) Top 50 List of Apartment Managers, jumping to No. 11 after debuting at No. 42 in 2020. Now, with over 112,000 units under management, RPM is expecting to make another jump when the 2022 list is announced in mid-April.  

Even among the industry’s ever-evolving landscape due to the global pandemic and a highly competitive job market, RPM has been able to grow at all levels. The company currently employs over 2,400 associates, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through innovative solutions and resident-centric service. Currently, RPM manages a diverse portfolio of 112,000 units across 35 markets in 21 states. 

The Best Place to Work accolade compliments other recent awards RPM has earned including its CEO Jason Berkowitz and its Transition & Due Diligence Team both being named Multifamily Influencers by GlobeSt.com in 2021. 

To read more about GlobeSt.’s 2022 Best Places to Work winners, click here. To learn more about RPM Living, visit RPMLiving.com. 

RPM Living Appoints Longstanding Outside Counsel Kasi Moeskau as Chief Legal Officer

RPM Living announces the appointment of Kasi Moeskau as Chief Legal Officer for RPM Living, its subsidiaries, and affiliates. Moeskau has served as outside counsel for both RPM Living and F&B Capital for nearly 15 years, representing the latter on over 100 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $1.5 billion. As Chief Legal Officer, Moeskau will provide legal and strategic guidance for RPM’s nationally recognized management platform and continue assisting with its investment endeavors. 

With over 20 years’ experience practicing law, Moeskau most recently was a shareholder at esteemed Austin firm Sneed, Vine & Perry, P.C., and a member of its Legal Opinion Committee. Her experience includes the representation of a wide variety of investors and other owners and operators of commercial real estate assets in the acquisition and disposition of real property, financing transactions, and organization and negotiation of joint ventures. Moeskau also routinely advised clients in a wide range of operational and corporate compliance matters. She graduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s in Political Science and earned her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. Moeskau has been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 2002.  

“Kasi has been instrumental in many of our past transactions, and we are thrilled to strengthen our team by welcoming her to the RPM family. With two decades of experience, Kasi brings the expertise and knowledge needed as RPM accelerates its growth nationwide and executes its long-term objectives.” says Jason Berkowitz, CEO and Founder of RPM Living.  

Over the past few years, RPM has achieved exponential growth despite the industry’s uncertain landscape due to the global pandemic. In 2020, the Austin-based firm debuted on the NMHC Top 50 Managers list at No. 42 before making the biggest jump of the year and soaring to No. 11. Continuing its strategic national expansion, RPM experienced its largest year of growth in 2021, adding more than 47,000 units to its portfolio. Currently, RPM manages a diverse portfolio of 112,000 units across 35 markets and employs over 2,400 associates nationwide. 

Five RPM Communities Awarded Apartment Ratings' Top Rated for 2021

We are thrilled to share that multiple RPM communities have been awarded Apartment Ratings’ Top Rated for 2021. The annual awards recognize properties with outstanding resident satisfaction on ApartmentRatings.com. Of the many properties on their site, just 5% are awarded this recognition, making it a major achievement.

To qualify for this award, communities had to meet several criteria including:

  • An epIQ Index community grade of A- (80.00) or better: epIQ is the most comprehensive and insightful performance metric index which combines verified Apartment Ratings and SatisFacts data to generate a reliable and up-to-date rating. It’s calculated based on average renter ratings, reviews per unit compared to other communities, percentage of reviews with a manager’s response, and average response time.
  • A minimum of 5 reviews in the 2021 calendar year 

Congrats to our RPM communities who earned this amazing accomplishment:

  • Cashel Springs
  • Oakbridge Apartments
  • The Avery at Deer Park
  • The Mill
  • Whispering Winds Apartments

View the entire list of 2021 winners by visiting: apartmentratings.com/top-rated-awards

RPM Living Focuses on National Expansion by Adding Industry Veterans Ron Bonneau and Chase Hill to Team

RPM Living, (“RPM”) announces the addition of industry powerhouse Ron Bonneau as Partner and Managing Director of Acquisitions to RPM Investments’ team and a newly formed partnership with accomplished real estate developer Chase Hill. The two moves further build upon the firm’s national growth strategy.  

As Partner and Managing Director of Acquisitions, Ron Bonneau will be responsible for the implementation of RPM Investments’ national acquisition strategy along with developing new capital partner relationships. Bonneau has capitalized over $35 billion of real estate during his career and most recently served as Managing Director of Pacific Coast Capital Partners (PCCP) where he oversaw debt and equity originations for the Southeast and Texas. He has also served as Fund Manager at PCCP and previously spent time at Lehman Brothers in the Real Estate Private Equity Group, and as Asset Manager for TriMont Real Estate Advisors.  

As Partner and Managing Director of Development, Chase Hill will marry RPM Investments’ management and investment presence and deep relationships with Hill’s experience to expand on development throughout the South and Southwest. Hill is the Founding Partner at Sable Partners and has been involved in the sourcing, capitalization, and execution of over 3,000 multifamily units totaling nearly $700 million in total project costs. Prior to Sable Partners, he spent nearly nine years as Principal and Partner at Cypress Real Estate Advisors (CREA) where he oversaw all aspects of multifamily development, and Senior Analyst for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS). There, he assisted with a $278 million programmatic joint venture investment with Wood Partners to develop 25 apartment communities totaling over $1.3 billion in project costs.   

“We are pleased to welcome Ron and Chase to the RPM Living team, I look forward to their insight and perspective as they help grow our platform across the country.” Hank Farrell III, CEO and Co-Founder RPM Living, Investments. 

RPM employs over 2,400 team members and maintains a presence in 21 states of which both Bonneau and Hill have extensive experience and knowledge transacting within.   

The partnerships with Bonneau and Hill will accelerate the recent growth experienced by RPM Investments. In 2021, the firm successfully closed the RPM Multi-Family Fund I - its first LP real estate fund, which received commitments totaling in excess of $100 million. RPM acquired roughly 3,600 multifamily units in 2021 totaling a gross value of over $800 million during the same period. Last year’s transactions included 13 communities located throughout six different cities across the Sunbelt region and into both Texas and Arizona. RPM Investments now owns a portfolio with a market value of roughly $4 billion, primarily consisting of properties in the rapidly growing South and Southeast. 

Multiple RPM Living Communities Ranked Among the Top 1% Apartments Nationally for Online Reputation by J Turner Research

Five RPM Living properties have been recognized among the Elite 1% properties in the nation with the best online reputation for 2021 by J Turner Research, the leading market research firm exclusively serving the multifamily industry. Of the 128,000 plus properties J Turner monitors, 1,564 properties earned the Elite 1% distinction in the eighth annual Elite 1% ORA™ Power Ranking, published by Multifamily Executive.

Developed by J Turner Research, the ORA® Power Ranking is based on monthly online reputation research of over 128,000 properties’ lifetime reviews across multiple review sites and Internet Listing Services (ILSs). Based on a statistical model, J Turner assigns an independent Online Reputation Assessment Score (ORA®) to each property on a scale of 0-100 which determines a property’s rank in the Elite 1% ranking. The national average ORA® Score as of December 2021 was 62.62. Of the 1,564, five RPM communities earned this distinction, including:

  • Residence at the Oaks: Rank 16, ORA Score 99
  • Addison Place: Rank 964, ORA Score 94
  • Hebron Trails: Rank 1,075, ORA Score 94
  • The Mill: Rank 1,264, ORA Score 94
  • One Oak Grove: Rank 1,401, ORA Score 94

To be eligible for the 2021 Elite 1% ranking, a property had to register a minimum ORA® Score of 94 as of December 2021. For properties with the same ORA® score, the property with the higher number of reviews ranked higher.

J Turner Research developed the ORA® Score to simplify how online reputation is measured, and it serves as the multifamily industry standard to measure a property’s online reputation. Each month, MFE publishes a ranking of properties and management companies based on their ORA® scores. A property or a management company does not have to be a J Turner Research client to qualify for this ranking. To learn more about ORA®, please visit jturner.us/ora.

RPM Serves

RPM Serves is the charitable arm of RPM Living and provides employees and residents with an opportunity to serve their communities and a variety of organizations.

RPM Serves Mission and Pillars

Our mission is to provide support in creating, establishing and strengthening households. With a stable foundation to build upon, individuals can construct a safe space to call home to enhance their lives and those of future generations. Our three pillars – housing, empowerment, and families & companions – strategically guide our efforts towards giving back to organizations that help create a sense of home and community for those in need.

RPM Serves Goals

Our goals for each pillar are as follows:

  • Housing: Provide accessible housing solutions and safe, healthy living environments for those in need.
  • Empowerment: Inspire and educate underprivileged individuals with little access to funds, resources or opportunities.
  • Families & Companions: Support children and families in need of basic essentials, and advocate for and improve the lives of all animals.

RPM Serves Committee

RPM Serves is supported by a committee of associates located in all our regional markets. Team members have the opportunity to apply each year to be a part of the committee, which assists in planning and leading monthly regional events and contributes to larger, companywide initiatives. While various events are held monthly throughout RPM’s regions, companywide events are held 1-2 times a year, bringing together all staff and residents for one unified project and common cause.

RPM knows giving back is important to everyone, which is why associates are encouraged to submit event and volunteering ideas for organizations near to their heart. Team members can even lead events in their region with the support of the RPM Serves committee, or simply volunteer their time. This gives associates the unique opportunity to give back to causes they are passionate about and allows the company to work with and support a wide range of organizations.

RPM Serves 2021 Initiatives

Every holiday, RPM hosts a companywide toy drive in support of Toys For Tots. In 2021, we collected over 2,700 toys across our properties and regional offices. Other initiatives in 2021 included a gift card drive in our Austin region in support of Foundation Communities which collected more than $12,000 in donations for families in need and a back-to-school supply drive in support of the children who attend their Learning Center programs.

We also were a promotional partner for the 2021 North Texas Giving Day in our Dallas region which supported over 3,300 nonprofit organizations in the region. In our Chicago region, our teams and clients joined together for a Giving Tuesday to support Feed My Starving Children were they packed 95 boxes to provide over 20,000 meals for those in need.

RPM Serves Past Initiatives

In the past, RPM has had the opportunity to give back to an array of charitable causes, supporting everything from families in need and homeless pets, to the environment and medical research.

Recent events in just the past three years include a garden clean-up with UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum, a summer book distribution with Texas Kids Read, a food drive with Central Texas Food Bank, finish line crowd control for the Austin Marathon, Earth Day fun with Austin Parks Foundation, and other events with Houston Aids Foundation, Head for The Cure, Girls Empowerment Network of Austin, Strutt Your Mutt, and more.

RPM Serves has also worked with Foundation Communities, a non-profit organization providing affordable housing for those in need, since 2013 and continues to do so every year.

RPM Serves as an Employee Benefit

RPM Serves is one of many programs part of Thrive, our all-encompassing benefits package offered to associates that addresses the four main areas of well-being: Wellness, Future, Drive, Care. RPM Serves is part of the Care bucket, alongside other community-focused programs and perks that encourage employees to volunteer and give back.

Olmsted Savannah Brings Sophistication and Charm to Historic District and Honors Late Visionary

Opening in November, the community is the most sophisticated in Savannah’s Historic District

RPM Living is proud to announce Olmsted Savannah, an eclectic, boutique mid-rise apartment community located in the Historic District of Downtown Savannah, Georgia. Slated to open in November, the luxury property has already begun leasing.

The building honors the memory of Catherine and Byron Cocke, who both tragically died in a 2017 private plane crash just outside Savannah. Byron was the co-founder of CF Real Estate Services, an Atlanta-based real estate company that merged with RPM early this year. It was Byron who saw the tremendous potential in Olmsted Savannah’s location.

“Byron had the vision for the location and believed passionately in the potential of and Savannah as a whole,” says Brett Oliver, Director of Development of RPM Living, who worked closely with Cocke and has led the design and development of Olmsted Savannah. “We’ve worked tirelessly to create a place that would make Catherine and Byron and the entire City of Savannah proud. We strived to bring the most well-appointed, stylish, and sophisticated apartment homes and amenities to the market. People should really come check it out.”

Situated at 601 Indian Street, the 163-unit property is one block from the Savannah River and walking distance to everything the Historic District has to offer. Olmsted’s chef-inspired kitchens are the only new apartment homes with gas ranges and Carrera Quartz counters in the city. Residents will also enjoy Nest thermostats, stainless steel appliances, 10’ ceilings, oversized windows, in-home washer/dryer, and fantastic views of the Savannah River, the Talmadge Bridge, and Historic Downtown.

Olmsted’s unique amenities provide spaces for gathering, entertaining, and unwinding, including The Parlor, a community hub that opens to an elevated pool courtyard featuring a heated saltwater pool, fire pit, and outdoor kitchen with panoramic Downtown views. Another highlight of the second-story courtyard is a custom skylight window overlooking the dramatic lobby, which features brass plaques cast in the marble floor honoring Byron and Catherine. The building’s entire Indian St. frontage features a chic restaurant space. RPM anticipates announcing its exciting restauranteur partner soon.

Olmsted Savannah is primely located just steps from the City’s top attractions, including the new Plant Riverside District: an early twentieth century riverside power plant redeveloped into a world-class 4.5-acre entertainment destination. It’s home to the newly opened 400-room JW Marriott Savannah, a multitude of eclectic bars and restaurants, vibrant music venues and nightlife, high-end galleries, locally owned shops, and a completely new boardwalk.

Olmsted Savannah is the third Olmsted-branded development. The first two Olmsted developments, Olmsted Chamblee and Olmsted Nashville, were each the recipient of national and local awards for best-in-class projects, including the National Association of Homebuilder’s Pillars of the Industry Award. The Olmsted brand brings an engaging, eclectic, and down-to-earth feel into apartment living where a genuine sense of community is fostered.

Olmsted Savannah is a joint project with Legacy Capital Partners, based in Cleveland, Ohio. While Legacy is primarily an investor in the acquisition of existing multifamily properties, Olmsted Savannah represented a unique ground-up development opportunity due to the continued growth of Savannah and RPM’s multifamily development and property management expertise. To learn more about RPM Living Investments, visit rpmlivinginvestments.com. To learn more about Olmsted Savannah, visit olmstedsavannah.com.

Project Highlights

Developer: RPM Living Development and Legacy Capital Partners
Multifamily Manager: RPM Living
Location: Savannah, GA
Projected opening: November 2021
Number of units: 163
Unit mix: Studio, 1- and 2-bedrooms

KKR and RPM Living Acquire The Beach House Apartments in Jacksonville, Florida

New York – October 28, 2021 – KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that KKR Real Estate Select Trust Inc. (“KREST”) and RPM Living Investments (“RPM Living”), a full-service multifamily management, investment and development company, have acquired The Beach House Apartments (“The Beach House”), a multifamily property in Jacksonville, Florida. The transaction is KKR’s first multifamily investment through KREST, a continuously offered, registered closed-end fund designed to deliver access to income-oriented private real estate investments.

Completed in 2010, The Beach House is a 228-unit, garden-style multifamily complex located in the Jacksonville Beaches submarket, approximately one mile from public beach access and in close proximity to Jacksonville’s popular beachside entertainment and shopping destinations. The property features luxury interiors, private patios and balconies, and variety of modern amenities, including a swimming pool, fitness center and business center. RPM Living will operate The Beach House and oversee a number of upgrades to ensure the property continues to provide a high-quality residential experience.

“We are excited to complete our first residential investment for KREST with the purchase of this premium apartment complex located in the highly desirable Jacksonville Beach neighborhood,” said Michael Friedland, Managing Director at KKR. “We are continuing to deepen our footprint in the fast-growing Sunbelt region and believe this beach-adjacent property offers attractive value to a wide range of residents who are choosing Jacksonville for its great lifestyle and employment opportunities.”

“The Beach House’s great location coupled with Jacksonville’s current competitive market is what attracted us to this investment and we’re looking forward to further expanding our presence in the Southeast and Sunbelt region,” said Josh Kahn, Chief Operating Officer, Investments at RPM Living.

The investment is part of KREST’s stabilized real estate investment strategy, one of the fund’s three primary investment strategies, which focuses on thematically-driven, income-generating real estate in high growth markets, including well-leased multi-family. Since launching a dedicated real estate platform in 2011, KKR has grown real estate assets under management to approximately $33 billion across the U.S., Europe and Asia as of June 30, 2021. KKR’s global real estate team consists of approximately 130 dedicated investment professionals, spanning both the equity and credit business, across 12 offices and nine countries.

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About KREST

KKR Real Estate Select Trust Inc. (“KREST”) is a continuously offered, registered closed-end fund that thematically invests in high quality, stabilized, income-oriented commercial real estate equity and debt. The fund is open to all investors with daily subscriptions and its primary investment objective is to provide attractive current income, with a secondary objective of long-term capital appreciation. KREST is managed by KKR Registered Advisor LLC, an affiliate of KKR & Co. Inc., and utilizes the experience and reach of KKR’s global real estate team and the resources available through the KKR platform. For additional information about KREST, please visit its website at www.krest.reit.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About RPM Living

RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is ranked #11 on the NMHC Top 50 Largest Apartment Manager list and the third largest property management company in Texas managing more than 100 clients, nine regional offices and 76,000 units across Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 2,000 associates nationwide spread across 27 markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.

GlobeSt.com Names RPM Living’s Transitions & Due Diligence Team a 2021 Multifamily Influencer

AUSTIN, TX (Oct. 18, 2021) – RPM Living’s Transitions and Due Diligence Team has been named by GlobeSt. as a 2021 Multifamily Influencer. The annual series features some of the most notable professionals in the multifamily space, including developers, investors, brokers, and those who have introduced new concepts and products to the business, along with teams and entire organizations who have become critical to the industry.

For this series, GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum collected a substantial number of nominations and selected top candidates from across the multifamily real estate field. Each individual, team and firm has been chosen as a talented and impactful industry leader and will be profiled in the October issue of GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, which will be distributed in early October, and honored at the 30th annual GlobeSt. APARTMENTS conference in Los Angeles.

RPM’s Transitions and Due Diligence Team is comprised of 10 team members utilizing proprietary systems and processes built by the team itself and refined over the years to perfect the process and greatly increase efficiency. The team is responsible for managing the entire takeover process for communities onboarding to RPM, as well as disposition management, due diligence, and utility management. This role is critical to the company’s growth and expansion and has contributed to the organization’s 2020 debut on the NMHC Top 50 Largest Apartment Managers list at No. 42 and its leap to No. 11 just a year later.

The Transitions and Due Diligence team have handled a 109.5% YOY increase in takeovers from 2018 to 2020 and a 93% YOY increase in due diligences from 2019 to 2020. There has been a 302.2% average monthly increase in takeovers from 2018 to date and a 281.5% average monthly increase in due diligence inspections from 2019 to date.

Click here to view the full list of 2021 Multifamily Influencers on GlobeSt.com.

For more information on RPM Living, visit rpmliving.com.

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RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is a NMHC Top 50 Manager and the third largest property management company in Texas managing more than 100 clients, nine regional offices and 76,000 units across Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 1,900 associates nationwide spread across 27 markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.

GlobeSt.com Names Jason Berkowitz a 2021 Multifamily Influencer

AUSTIN, TX (Oct. 18, 2021) – Jason Berkowitz, CEO of RPM Living, has been named by Globe St. as a 2021 Multifamily Influencer. The annual series features some of the most notable professionals in the multifamily space, including developers, investors, brokers, and those who have introduced new concepts and products to the business, along with teams and entire organizations who have become critical to the industry.

For this series, GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum collected a substantial number of nominations and selected top candidates from across the multifamily real estate field. Each individual, team and firm has been chosen as a talented and impactful industry leader and will be profiled in the October issue of GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, which will be distributed in early October, and honored at the 30th annual GlobeSt. APARTMENTS conference in Los Angeles.

Jason Berkowitz

Jason founded RPM Living in 2002 with just ten units under management. RPM is now the third largest property management company in Texas and No. 11 on NMHC’s list of Top 50 Largest Apartment Managers. Throughout the past year, Jason led RPM through two acquisitions of Phoenix-based Maverick Residential and Dallas-based Pace Realty, and a merger with Atlanta-based CF Real Estate Services, all while continuing to organically grow the company. This expanded RPM’s footprint into 14 new states and added six regional offices and a regional headquarters. Even amid RPM’s rapid growth, Jason continually makes an impact among its 2,000 associates, all of whom share a collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through innovative solutions and resident-centric service.

Aside from market growth, RPM experienced considerable internal growth over the past year as well, with 147 internal promotions and overall headcount growing by nearly 300. Moreover, during a time when many companies were letting people go due to the effects of COVID-19, RPM and its 1,900+ associates never experienced layoffs, and still haven’t to this day.

Click here to view the full list of 2021 Multifamily Influencers on GlobeSt.com.

For more information on RPM Living, visit rpmliving.com.

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RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is ranked #11 on the NMHC Top 50 Manager and the third largest property management company in Texas managing more than 100 clients, nine regional offices and 76,000 units across Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 2,000 associates nationwide spread across 27 markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.