Send Me a Postcard, Drop Me a Line
Nov. 19, 2015 — The board of directors at the Park Lane North co-op in Forest Hills, Queens, has been working mightily in recent years to improve the property. They upgraded the elevators, redid the hallways, built a garden, got the finances in shape and, as a crowning glory, turned the roof into a spacious terrace. It roosts 20 stories above Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway, affording sweeping views that include the Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn skylines.
But few people outside the building knew about these improvements. They were among the best-kept secrets in town.
Then one day the board’s vice president, Tim Taylor, a marketing consultant, had an idea. “Our management company is great at handling the Xs and Os of running the building,” Taylor says, “but nobody was communicating what it’s like to live here. One of the strongest drivers of apartment sales is that people want to buy into a community. We decided to give people a sense of what it’s like to live here.”
To that end, Taylor used his branding experience to produce a colorful postcard headlined “Rediscover Park Lane North,” with a picture of the vista from the rooftop terrace. The postcard highlighted the many recent improvements and amenities at the 205-unit property, including spacious floor plans, 24/7 doormen, 33-camera video surveillance system, indoor and outdoor parking, and proximity to subways and shopping and parks. The postcards were then mailed to hundreds of real estate brokers in Queens and beyond, urging them to come visit. The board also put on an open house for brokers and prospective buyers.
One of the best-kept secrets in town was suddenly common knowledge. “Now the brokers knew about the improvements, and they knew they were welcome – and they brought buyers,” says the co-op’s property manager, Steve Greenbaum, director of property management/asset management for Mark Greenberg Real Estate. “The postcards sent the right message. Most brokers don’t really know what’s going on inside a building. This made the building more desirable, and now apartments don’t sit on the market for long.”
One Century 21 broker’s response was typical. “All my agents received your postcard,” he wrote to Taylor. “Good idea. You are the only building to do this.”
Adds Taylor: “We’ve had some positive gains in sales prices, and several buyers have said the roof deck sealed the deal.”
This novel way of spreading the word about the co-op’s physical improvements and its sense of community is just the beginning. “We’re going to make a continuous effort to market this building,” says Taylor.
“This is the wave of the future,” adds Greenbaum. “We’re presenting it to our other buildings and everyone’s biting. What it costs is a couple of grand and that’s bupkis. It’s a beautiful thing."