Attention: All Associates

Fellow E-Team members,

As we close out another year, I’d like to take a moment to highlight many of our 2019 accomplishments and express my gratitude and appreciation for your great work. Along with the Senior Management Committee and the Board of Directors, I thank you for the tireless effort and unwavering commitment that has made Essex a proven leader in the apartment industry. Following are a few of the year’s highlights:

The health and well-being of the E-Team is the key to our Company’s success, and it remains our most important leadership objective. A shortage of trained and skilled associates and managers has been an ongoing issue this year, which we have tried to remedy by promoting from within, building skills via our Steps to Success curriculum, and offering a leadership training program. This year, 151 associates completed the Steps to Success curriculum, and 77 new associates joined us through E-Team member referrals. We continued to strengthen our investment in our associates in other ways by promoting health and wellness through further integration with the Vitality wellness platform and by awarding more than $97,000 through the Excellence program.

On a broader scale, our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship has continued to remain central to our values, leading to the recent publication of our inaugural corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.  It won’t surprise you that our properties are high quality and located in the most desirable markets along the West Coast; however, it may surprise you to know that we have 84 communities that use solar energy, and 91% of our communities have LED lighting upgrades. We continue to invest in our communities to make them safe, efficient, and appealing to our residents while reducing our environmental footprint. Another wave of technology improvements has been tested and is nearly ready for roll-out, representing the latest phase of our digital transformation. We helped form a technology consortium of apartment companies to find solutions to the biggest “pain points” in managing property, and many thoughtful solutions have emerged. For example, Sightplan has already helped organize maintenance scheduling and resident communications. Smartrent provides a home automation solution that creates efficiencies on-site while providing functionality desired by residents.  As we adopt new technology solutions, we have been careful to pilot them thoughtfully to reduce the stress inherent in change.  

We will invest close to $1 billion in new communities in 2019, including 777 Hamilton (195 units in Menlo Park, CA), Brio (300 units in Walnut Creek, CA), The Courtyards at 65^th Street (331 units in Emeryville, CA), Township (132 units in Walnut Creek), and Velo and Ray Apartments (308 units in Seattle). To help alleviate severe housing shortages, our development team also delivered nearly $1 billion in newly developed apartments, including phase 2 and 3 at Station Park Green in San Mateo, the first phases of Mylo Santa Clara, and our 500 Folsom property—a 42-story tower in the heart of San Francisco.  We are pleased to report that each of these developments is expected to be LEED or GreenPoint certified. 

As we move into 2020, we anticipate another year of growth and success as we look forward to opening several new communities, including Wallace on Sunset, Patina at Midtown, and additional phases of 500 Folsom, and Mylo Santa Clara. We will continue to focus on investing in our E-Team members and the communities which we serve as well as move forward in our digital transformation.

In closing, I’d like to reiterate a sincere thank you for contributing to the Company’s extraordinary success, which, of course, begins by providing exceptional customer service in attractive apartment homes. Along with Essex leadership, I am honored to work together with you today, and every day throughout the year.

Warmest Holiday Wishes,

Mike Schall

P.S. Here are the highlights presented in infographic form!