Nicholas Pantuliano, Michael Tillman and Scott Meyer
Nicholas Pantuliano, Michael Tillman and Scott Meyer
Chief Development Officer/Chief Operations Officer; Chief Executive Officer/Chief Investment Officer; Chief Financial Officer at PTM Partners
PTM Partners is taking the long view when it comes to real estate in the District of Columbia.
“The pandemic was [and] is absolutely horrible, but it’s a moment in time,” Michael Tillman said. “Long-term developers and owners like PTM, we have to look through and be realistic that there’ll be up-cycles, there will be down cycles …You build product through cycles, not into cycles.”
That said, Nicholas Pantuliano, Tillman and Scott Meyer — whose initials form the titular PTM — have noticed that the pandemic has accelerated existing trends toward open and outdoor amenity spaces.
Luckily, PTM’s two recent projects — a 453-unit development at 1900 Half Street SW that closed in 2019 and a 720-unit riverfront development at 1000 Annapolis Way — fit squarely into those new expectations.
“The existing footprint afforded us the ability to have very ample, generous, open amenity spaces,” Meyer said of 1900 Half Street.
“[It] opened in August — not the most ideal time to open a building, given everything that was going on,” Pantuliano added. “But, we were very fortunate with how strong the building was designed … that after a slow ramp-up, it did well. That just is a testament to the design and to our partners, and how strong the market is.”
PTM is staying busy and working on other deals in the D.C. area. Though the team couldn’t share much, Tillman said they would be keeping an eye on signs of promising neighborhood change, like non-chain coffee places and bicycle repair stores.
“We’re looking around and active in communities, where we believe that there will be a new influx of residents to support that growing need by the city,” Tillman said.
Looking forward, PTM will continue to double down on large amenity spaces — which Pantuliano said have become needs, not wants, by tenants looking to spread out after being stuck at home. Coworking spaces, flexible spaces and outdoor spaces have become vital, he said.
“Our focus is how do we take our single-use buildings, and start creating multi-use and multiple revenue streams out of them that accommodate the new lifestyle of our tenants,” Tillman said.
