RE #175 - Bobby Fijan - Partner @ Form Developers - The Mad Scientist of Floorplans

Bobby has been involved in startup companies for nearly his entire career. He left graduate school to start his previous company, Cross Properties, with 3 other partners in the basement of a seminary in 2011. He's worn every hat in real estate from finance, capital markets, fundraising, leasing, late night maintenance and semi-professional architect. At Cross, he was the Partner in charge of the Development and Design team and was responsible for every project from empty lot to stabilized building. In 2019, he left day to day operations at Cross to co-found Tailorbird, a construction technology company, and Form Developers.

On this episode, Chris and Bobby breakdown the science behind floor plans and how Bobby looks at apartment development as products that need perfecting. They discuss value add, efficiencies in the industry, the concept of pre-furnished apartments, how Bobby has built his persona as a floor plan consultant on Twitter and much more. Enjoy!

Follow Chris on Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris
Follow Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/
Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: https://www.FortCapitalLP.com
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Listen & Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oIeNSaSJ4zkTQOXiedyOr?si=dEM48cSPQ9OIQ1HiD8sjrg

Listen & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fort-with-chris-powers/id1410549811

00:12 - Bobby’s Career in Real Estate

02:34 - How did you make floor plans your niche?

06:32 - What’s the main reason floor plans are afterthoughts in the development process?

08:53 - What would make a great 650Sqft unit and what makes a terrible one?

13:41 - Are there parts of a floorplan that adds value every time and parts that don’t in the data you’ve seen?

17:41 - What would a second use for a bedroom be?

18:52 - Thoughts on Balconies

19:50 - What makes 2brs more or less valuable?

22:07 - How do preferences change between demos of empty-nesters and millennials?

23:18 - Bobby’s Disdain for Value-Add

26:51 - Creating Metrics That People Aren’t Measuring Right Now

29:54 - Are you met with resistance when trying to present this way of thinking?

32:59 - What would be the opposite view of yours?

34:30 - “Apartments Should Be Designed Furnished”

43:42- Is there any data to suggest people would rent longer in a pre-furnished scenario?

44:17 - What’s your favorite feature in a small apartment?

45:02 - Thoughts on Efficiencies in Apartments

47:43 - Thoughts on Micro-units

48:25 - What are key things you think about when you take over an existing structure?

52:29 - Are there resources developers can utilize early on when it comes to easily design floor plans?

58:00 - What is a complex deal and what have you done to gravitate towards them?

1:00:26 - What are common things that the average developer overlooks when reviewing rules & regulations and dealing with surrounding communities?

1:08:33 - What do the majority of your reuse deals look like?

1:09:10 - Is it fair to say there’s more adaptive reuse projects in the Northeast?

1:11:36 - Does anything come to mind of things you’ve been able to pull off that most developers wouldn’t have seen?

1:17:50 - When you enter a new area, do you bring on local consultants to help you create relationships in the city or do you have a specific approach?

1:23:48 - Do you have a favorite floor plan you’ve ever seen? And what’s the worst one you’ve ever seen?

1:27:58 - What’s your favorite development?

1:19:15 - How can people find you?

Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/BobbyFijan

The FORT is produced by Johnny Peterson & Straight Up Podcasts