The New York Times: By ALISON GREGOR Published: April 19, 2012
Benton Wofford, who rents a one-bedroom in MiMA, says he may also use the new technology concierge at his building to learn more about his iPad and Xbox.
WHEN Megan Langston moved into MiMA, a new rental development at 450 West 42nd Street, in early April, there were no four-hour waits for the cable guy to set up her service.
The transition into her one-bedroom apartment there was much smoother than the last household move she had made, six years earlier, said Ms. Langston, who is also technologically sophisticated, running a Web design business from her home.
“Back then, we had to handle everything on our own,” she said. “No one helped us coordinate anything. It works so much better being able to have people to coordinate the utilities and Internet and all of that.”
This month, MiMA and a companion development in the same high-rise called One MiMA Tower, at 460 West 42nd Street, began offering the services of what they call a technology concierge to handle tasks as simple as hanging a television and as complex as setting up and troubleshooting a home office network.
Apartments in MiMA start at $3,595 a month for a studio; $3,895 a month for a small one-bedroom; and $5,995 a month for a two-bedroom. Asking rents are higher at One MiMA Tower, which has a separate entrance and is on the upper floors; they range from about $4,695 a month, for a small one-bedroom, to $25,000 a month for a penthouse.
Daria Salusbury, a senior vice president of the Related Companies, which developed MiMA, said the technology concierge would be available for troubleshooting from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For new residents of One MiMA Tower, there is no charge for a one-hour consultation and the first hour of installation service, which Ms. Salusbury said should be enough to cover mounting a television, for example. New residents of MiMA receive only a free one-hour consultation. Beyond that, Related charges a lump sum for the most complicated jobs, but most smaller jobs will be billed by the hour, at a rate to be determined, but competitive with what a chain store like Best Buy would charge.
Ms. Salusbury, who leads Related’s residential leasing operations, said the idea for a technology concierge evolved from watching residents and learning about their needs. “We’re always looking for what’s on the horizon,” she said. “What feedback are we getting from residents? It took a little while to figure out that this was a trend, and that’s when we said, ‘We understand technology is really important in everybody’s lifestyle, and we need to embrace that.’ ”
Besides the concierge services, Related has installed combination jacks that let residents plug in cable, fax, phone and other communications devices, she said. (The company converted to paperless online leasing, meaning tenants could handle their entire lease transaction via e-mail, in August 2009.)
Most recently, when cellphone users began finding that high-rises often have spotty coverage, Related installed what are known as wireless distributed antenna systems into the MiMA tower and the luxury condominium Superior Ink on West 12th Street. The system distributes the cellphone signal so the entire building receives coverage.
The $2 million system in MiMA tower works for signals from AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, and the $500,000 system in Superior Ink distributes all those as well as Sprint.
“So we embraced a problem and resolved it before it really became a huge issue,” Ms. Salusbury said. “That natural evolution from that system was to create a technology concierge.”
Tom Beaumont is the technology concierge at MiMA. Overseeing 10 tech teams of two members each, he said he had already completed one complex job in the MiMA tower — the moving and wiring of a tenant’s home entertainment system. “We’re getting calls from people moving in who are looking at getting their TVs mounted and setting up their home theater systems and, beyond that, setting up their Wifi networks,” he said. “That has basically opened up a conversation about other types of technologies they may not have considered.”
Beyond setting up wireless networks and home theater systems, the technology concierge offers Apple device integration, as well as setup of wireless audio systems and gaming devices. The techs can also install remote control programming and parental Internet controls.
Related plans to roll out the technology concierge to its entire rental portfolio, a total of about 5,000 units, in the next month or so, Ms. Salusbury said.
Benton Wofford, who rents a one-bedroom in MiMA, says he may use the technology concierge to learn more about the various uses of his iPad and Xbox, depending on how much it costs.
“I’m not really up on all the tricks of the iPad,” he said. “I haven’t explored them, and I’m still limited in my Xbox.”
