Value-add plays will continue to make up a big piece of the apartment investment pie (Thanksgiving metaphors continue at Bisnow until all the leftovers are gone), said Beech Street Capital's Michael Edelman at our BMAC multifamily conference last week in DC. (Above, he's flanked by Martin Architectural Group's Mike Rosen and The Donaldson Group's John Majeski.) But lining up the right sponsorship is key. Mike--who's based here in Philly--says developers are also getting creative with repositioning, like St. John Properties' Melford Village project in Maryland, where it's adding a mixed-use portion to an over 450-acre business park. Mike's firm is the master architect on the project, which he says could be under construction soon and will also seek LEED-ND certification.

Until a few years ago, retail was an afterthought for new apartment complexes, according to Streetsense's Bruce Leonard. But curating a unique retailer mix has become a huge part of lease-up, Bruce says, as well as keeping tenants after the first lease. Bruce is joined on the dais by Sunwheel Energy's William Carson, Bozzuto Group prez Toby Bozzuto, RD Jones' Rebecca Jones, Hord Coplan Macht's Chris Harvey, Wood Partners' Scott Zimmerly, and Xfinity's Mike Slovin.