People, then Place, then Buildings. It's the Only Way.
It is a well-known fact among real estate developers that Greater Boston is one of the hardest markets to break into. With talented and connected local developers, obstacles with City and State permitting, and the reluctance of acceptance by elected officials and the broader community, local developers have typically been preferred to those out of state.
Chicago Developer, Magellan Development, and financial partner, Mesirow Financial, had been trying to break into the Boston market for over 16 years. When the City of Somerville released an RFQ seeking a master developer partner in Union Square, the Chicago duo was eager to engage. They pulled together a team of local and national industry experts that quickly became known as Union Square Station Associates/US2.
KP Strategies worked with US2 executives to develop and execute a community focused aggressive marketing, communications and engagement strategy to ensure US2 quickly became known throughout the Union Square community. The strategy was simple, if US2 wanted to be Union Square’s Master Developer Partner, US2 had to become part of Union Square. The strategy was organic and simple. US2 focused on listening and showcasing the US2 brand through actions not words. We gave the Union Square Community a taste of what it would be like to work with US2 as their master developer partner.
Using various communication and engagement tactics from business walks to twitter, community mailings to the alignment of strategic partners and more, US2 quickly jumped from last choice to the first. In less than 4-months, KP Strategies successfully transformed the US2 brand from the ‘out of town developer’ to Union Square’s community partner of choice. US2 was unanimously selected by the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) as the master developer partner for the Union Square redevelopment project.
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“US2 undertook more outreach than anyone else,” Office of Somerville Planning & Community Development director Ed O’Donnell told BostInno in a phone call. The Chicago-based developer “actively generated support among [Somerville’s] business and innovation economy,” O’Donnell added.
O’Donnell pointed to US2’s thorough understand0ing of Somerville’s shifting economy, which was cultivated through talks with MassChallenge, Greentown Labs and Workbar.