Building community
Equity Residential has made a lot of friends in Hyattsville, Md., in the past year or so. Ever since the huge apartment REIT bought developer Mid-City Financial's interest in the partially completed 260- unit Mosaic at Metro in July 2008, the largest apartment REIT in the country has worked to capture the hearts and minds of the city's residents.
By feeding its hungry, honoring its heroes, beautifying its landscape, supporting local artists and offering discounts to those who teach the children and keep the community safe, the company that owns and operates 146,000 units in around 540 apartment properties in high- growth markets from coast to coast has proven itself a good neighbor and valuable addition to the small community just outside Washington, D.C., city officials agree.
"The first thing they did when they came into Hyattsville was a food drive and they filled up a two-bedroom apartment with food to give to the CapitoI Area Food Bank, because there's been a lot of publicity about the food bank shortages. So that says a lot about them," said Hyattsville Mayor Bill Gardiner. The drive was undertaken as part of President Obama's Renew America Together initiative.
In addition to the month-long food collection that was coordinated by city employee Colleen Aistis and Equity Residential public relations specialist Catherine Timko, founder of The Riddle Company, the REIT donated $1,000 to the food bank.
"And they brought the idea of a Hometown Heroes park to us," said Police Chief Douglas Holland of Overlook Plaza at Mosaic at Metro, which celebrated its official grand opening on June 18 with
