Tell them about waking up on a crisp fall morning and taking a run in Forest Park just one block over from your apartment. Tell them about stopping back by Velocity Coffee Shop to have a cup of coffee – served by a friendly Barista named Tracy who rarely smiles but wants to. Tell them about the free copies of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the St. Louis Dispatch. Tell them about the free wifi. And, oh – it’s a bike shop too with cool bike motif everywhere. The bathroom even has a cool chalkboard where you once drew a giant dragon that looked as if it were eating the giant flower someone else drew.

Tell them about Papa John’s pizza and Subway at the end of the block where Tony and Charles remember your name and serve you with a smile. Tell them about Atlas Restaurant located in the heart of the neighborhood and the amazing food and desserts that they serve. Tell them about The Loop and The Central West End [very cool Saint Louis neighborhood hangouts] being just one mile away and don’t forget to mention the friendly cab driver resident who will drive you over while entertaining you with great conversation. Tell them about all the fun nights you had in those neighborhoods.

Tell them about Mr. and Mrs. Wang who own the dry cleaners right next door to Papa John’s and how they wash and fold clothes for $0.75 a pound. Tell them how much you love the fact that each Christmas they give your children big canisters of candy as a thank you for your business.

Tell them about the dog park even if you are not a pet lover – not even in the least.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is the neighborhood that I fell in love with in Saint Louis. Oh yeah, and I lived in a great apartment that overlooked a tree lined street that looks amazing in the fall.

Tell them with conviction how much you love the neighborhood the rest will fall right into place.

“Apple built a design driven culture that knows how to connect with its customers in a deeply emotional way. Apple products are portals to an amazing menu of of continuing experiences that matter to a lot of us.” – Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery

My three year old daughter, Kate, said to me, “Daddy – guess what!” I said, “what?” She said, “I love you.” I asked, “Kate, what is love.” She said, “it’s when your heart is happy.” It made my heart happy to hear that my three year old grasped the fact of love. Hat’s off to @sbrewer10 for that.

I say all that to ask this, “what makes your resident’s heart happy?” If their apartment is the portal to amazing experiences then what are those experiences that bring peace and happiness to their heart? It’s deep and it’s key.

Mike Brewer, Multifamily, Apartment