First of its kind smart-apartment in Omaha, Nebraska
Innovation is the mantra for success in every industry, and home-building is no different. Amenities like high-end appliances, air conditioner and free internet have become basic for the average city dweller who is always low on time and high on expectations. The benchmark for home-builders in Omaha, Nebraska has just gone up a full notch with the smart-home integration that the 1415 @ The Yard apartments have dared to build. The completely app controlled home does not require you to remember your key or to turn off your lights. Complete with entry-alerts and thermostat control right from its personalized app, it is the house you never thought you needed in life.
Once you sign a lease, download an app that offers a floor plan view of their apartment with icons for each smart spot, such as the TV electrical outlet or a socket in the bedroom. You can control those areas with a screen touch even when traveling outside the city. But even when you are at home, all you have to do is holler at the Amazon Echo sitting on your kitchen top for the weather outside or turn your lights down for movie night. "Renters move in and have a plug-n-play-ready smart apartment," said Matt Greene, VP of IOTAS Inc., which created and installed the technology for the builders of 1415- NewStreet Properties. "This comes with smart lights, outlets, thermostat, sensors, locks, dimmers, voice control and more."
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But even when you are at home, all you have to do is holler at the Amazon Echo sitting on your kitchen top for the weather outside or turn your lights down for movie night.
“Renters move in and have a plug-n-play-ready smart apartment ” — Matt Greene, VP of IOTAS
Opening in phases throughout September, the 1415 also features a huge outdoor patio with gas grills, a fire pit, outdoor TVs, as well as deck and floor-to-ceiling window views of downtown and TD Ameritrade Park across the street. Rent runs from $799 for a studio to nearly $2,000 for two-bedroom premium units with inset covered patios. Retail bays (yet-to-be filled) and parking stalls are on the ground level of the five-story structure, which is part of a $50 million project site along 14th Street from Cuming to Mike Fahey Streets. Gabriel Gianes of Lund Co., which manages the 1415, said 40 percent of the units were leased before opening. "Turns out, people like convenience," he mused.
Since smart-apartments have become a norm to the new-age dweller, builders like NuStyle have slowly started introducing efficient home solutions. NuStyle, the developer of numerous urban apartment buildings, uses photocells and occupancy sensors to light common areas and remote control of thermostats at The Wire apartments in downtown. At Alchemy Development properties in Omaha, Bert Hancock said he's looking at keyless entry door locks activated by smartphones. He's already convinced of the need for a package delivery system in which apartment dwellers receive a code via text or email to open a secure locker containing their goods, which happens to be another amenity offered at the 1415.
Despite the popularity of smart technology across the country, the adoption is mostly concentrated to individual homes. The full automation package in apartment complexes is still rare to find because of upfront costs and barriers to understanding potential returns. "Quite frankly when we tell people that one of the first ground-up, new-construction, fully integrated smart apartments is in Omaha, they usually look at me funny”, said IOTAS’s VP, Greene.
For those who have been exposed to the level of micro-luxury that 1415 @ Yard provides, the convenience can become addicting. "It starts to add up," said Manley, a 24 year old resident of 1415. "And you realize, wow, that's something I don't want to live without."