🗣️ "Advancing Livability & Sustainability in Cities"

Hosts: Greg Johnson & Kevin Kunz
Guest: Nicki Adler | Founder & CEO | TOP-YARD
Category: 🗣️ Opinion | Roofscape

Podcast’s Essential Bites:

[3:05] “I was wondering, why are all these roofs underutilized? […] Everyone in New York is trying to get themselves to a roof and most have been on these really underdeveloped roofs. And I just did some exploration, and found that there are a number of different reasons why roofs are not properly maximized and actually utilized. […] One key barrier is that the roofs are under-designed structurally for additional loads. So they can't hold the load capacity that you need for occupancy, or for even just adding vegetation, like a green roof.”

[4:41] “Mainly the challenge that […] I was trying to solve this feeling of needing open green space in cities and escape. And trying to solve the challenge of this extremely complicated system of doing any sort of renovation and retrofitting to your building. And so essentially, the idea was, can I do that structural upgrade, pair that with the permitting and the install, and basically offer a packaged rooftop transformation?”

[10:41] “I realized that I could develop more of a physical modular roof deck system. And I partnered up with a company called Inhabit Solar […] for the physical structure aspect of the solution. […] What I […] am trying to do is mass produce almost and standardize, basically productize the transformation of a rooftop space. And so much in this industry is not really viewed as a product, it's not viewed as something that is standardized and rinsed and repeated. It's much more of a custom job every single time. So I think approaching something in that way was really new for most people on the industry side of things. For customers, it resonated completely and everyone gets it.”

[15:01] “[During the pandemic] outer space became the amenity to have to escape and […] the only way to socialize with your friends was outdoors. […] It was always a premium amenity to have outdoor space, but became almost critical. So I very quickly was able to get in front of 100 Brooklyn agents of a […] realtor company […] and got my first client through that. […] I wasn't reinventing the wheel completely. We basically developed a structural system that was very similar to what others have been doing on rooftops, especially for AC units, or anything heavy on roofs. So it's not like a novel idea, it's just the approach is novel.”

[40:14] “The sell for this […] was always this is an improvement to your quality of life or your tenants’ quality of life. […] It makes a lot of sense to invest in this as opposed to […] other amazing kinds of improvements, insulation, heating, anything that […] is less visual and less able to be listed on a Zillow or on a StreetEasy page as a roof deck. I’ve also gotten a fair amount of people who want to almost get a rendering in advance of selling their building to kind of show this is the potential value of your roof rights […], this is what you can build if you purchase this.”

Rating: 💧💧💧

🎙️ Full Episode: Apple | Spotify | Google
🕰️ 55 min | 🗓️ 04/22/2021
✅ Time saved: 53 min

Additional Links:
AquiPor Technologies

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