2019 is officially here and it’s the perfect time for new beginnings! 2018 brought a lot of excitement with the delivery of Evolve at Tega Cay and Evolve at Timber Creek, and there’s so much more to look forward to in the year to come! To recap some of the incredible highlights from this past year, we reached out to Jackie Morelli, Director of Operations, for a quick Q + A!
Q. How long have you been with Evolve and what’s your role in the company?
A. I joined Evolve on November 11, 2014 to start up the management company. As the Director of Operations, I’m responsible for the operating strategy and portfolio of Evolve’s management division.
Q. What were the biggest things to happen for Evolve in 2018? What are some of your favorite highlights for the company over the past year?
A. There are so many accomplishments and highlights over the past year. Our high performance teams continue to astonish us through their teamwork, providing high levels of service and always striving to go over and beyond. I’m so proud of each team member, as they are a vital part of who we are. We can’t do what we do without them! Hands down, we have the best people—our team members, residents, owners, investors and vendor partners who make our organization so great!
We continue to focus on what’s most important which are our people, doing the right things and the bottom line inevitably takes care of itself. Every community within our portfolio has a success story and know this blog is limited on content! In April, we handed out many awards at our annual awards ceremony recognizing individuals and teams within Evolve Companies. For the very first year, we invited vendor partners to share in the celebration. Our vendor partners contribute to our success by delivering great products and services for our communities.
We implemented several operational strategies to improve efficiency in 2018 to include Yardi Payscan and online onboarding. We also partnered with Ellis on quarterly resident surveys, which provides invaluable feedback on our product and services. We went live with Liberty Rent Guarantee, which offers a prospective resident a potential solution to lease with us if they did not meet our credit guidelines. In September, several communities were affected by Hurricane Florence. We were overall very fortunate and sustained less damage than others. Many team members helped victims and communities affected either through volunteering, personal donations, monetary contributions, and staying on site for elderly residents in lieu of evacuating.
We worked and played hard at our annual budget bootcamp in October. We had a blast and have lots of memories especially trying to get out of the Break Out Room in teams. Another highlight in 2018 includes delivery of our 2 newest communities in 2018—Evolve at Tega Cay in Fort Mill, SC and Evolve at Timber Creek in Garner, NC.
Q. What’s your favorite thing about the newest community, Evolve at Timber Creek?
A. Even though the community is still under construction, the curb appeal around the completed areas of the property is absolutely beautiful even during this time of year. The clubhouse is absolutely striking and you’re sure to be greeted by one of our Evolve team members for a memorable experience. The interior features and amenities certainly make us stand out in this market.
Q. What other projects—construction or otherwise—are in the works for Evolve this year?
A. Though we won’t be managing these, Evolve Construction is very busy working on approximately 10 projects within NC, SC, TN and Georgia. Additionally, Stephen Austin, a partner in the management division is looking to break ground in Weaverville, NC.
Q. Are there any transformations Evolve is going through as we shift into 2019?
A. This is a big year for stabilization of Evolve Timber Creek and Evolve at Tega Cay.
We have several goals for 2019 to include adding value and amenities, seeking further ways to improve efficiency and re-envisioning the Evolve brand.
We’re looking forward to another exceptional year in 2019—onwards and upwards!
A huge thank you to Jackie, our Director of Operations, for taking the time to answer these questions and give us a glance back at 2018. Here’s to another fantastic year to come!
Want to see for yourself how we’ve evolved for 2019? Check out our newest community, Evolve at Timber Creek.
