Naming a Community - Spanish name or NOT! HELP ME :)

PLEASE HELP ME!!

I am working on a 476-unit community renovation in Austin, Texas. This is a Market Rate to Section 42 conversion. The current demographic is a primarily Hispanic, but we feel this will broaden as the renovation changes the community look and feel tremendously. Part of this 14 million dollar renovation, is a re-naming and re-branding campaign. I am working with a GREAT marketing firm and we have given the owner some name options; but he has shot them all down.

He is pushing for a Proper name (like his own) or with a Spanish name, such as Las Brisas (The Breezes).

In my opinion this naming choice does a few things:

1.) I feel that this is isolating the demographic that we will appeal to.
2.) I think that other demographics would not even consider the community because of
the name. (not even knowing what it means).
3.) Makes it difficult for non-Spanish speaking residents or employees to say the name.
4.) Makes marketing difficult (either outreach or print and internet advertising)
5.) Sets the tone for the community before it even opens.
6.) Sets the community up for failure, as there is a lot of documentation required for
Section 42 and therefore many of the people that WILL be drawn to the community
will not want to try to present all of the documents required to qualify for the
Section 42 program. This will make it very difficult to meet the occupancy goals.

Plus many other issues that are not so obvious..........

My question to you is this; what do you think about changing a name of a virtually brand new community to a "Spanish Name"? :dry:

I completely agree with you. A community name goes a long way towards drawing in potential residents. There will be certain people who will pass you by simply because a "spanish sounding name" will cause them to assume there is only a certain demographic living there.

Thank you for your comment. I am working on convincing the owner of this fact

Hi Amanda,

I will have to disagree with your statement a little, and not because I’m Spanish, but because my experience in the industry has shown me otherwise. For example, In Las Vegas Nevada we developed a property called Buena Vista (Beautiful View), this property was a mixed program community with LIHTC, Project Base Section 8, and BOND. The community was primarily African American, including the staff, which all had no difficult stating the name, not to mentioned the property maintain high occupancy and in many instances leading the market.

I also worked for one of the most luxurious multi-family developers in Atlanta, which had a policy to name all of their communities with the word VISTA (View) at the end of each first name (which typically was the location the site was located) (i.e. Lindbergh Vista). The developer believed that by adding the Spanish ending, it gave his community a sense of lavishness and created a perfect branding.

In Florida where I currently live, it’s very common for Developers of Affordable Housing to use Spanish names such as Bella Vista (Beautiful View), Marbella (Beautiful Ocean), San Juan (Saint John), Monterey (Royal Mountain), and many more. All which are very successful in the market.

While I do believe the name is a big part of the community, I don’t believe by naming it any language (Spanish, French, English, or Exotic) would it be detrimental to how you lease it or attract clientele. It’s all about the onsite management, your marketing campaign, and resident selection policy. So don’t turn down a name because it’s something new, think about the potential you can have with it instead.

I agree with Pedro. As a lender we see properties with all different types of names and the success of the property has less to do with the name and more to do with the management team. That being said, when you re-brand a property I think it is very important to consider the old name and the old problems. Pick a new name where there would be no mistaking the difference especially if you paint the buildings a different color and re-do the landscaping.

"Sets the community up for failure, as there is a lot of documentation required for Section 42 and therefore many of the people that WILL be drawn to the community will not want to try to present all of the documents required to qualify for the Section 42 program. This will make it very difficult to meet the occupancy goals".

I'm a little confused by point number 6. Even if the main draw to the community is spanish speaking people and being in Texas where there is an above average amount of spanish speaking individuals I don't foresee a problem with being successful unless you are referring to noncitizens. Although, I am not a statistician I would assume that the majority of spanish speaking individuals in Texas are citizens and not illegal aliens.

I agree w/ Pedro... a name is merely a name. The reputation that a name brings can become a future problem... Once bad reputation has been established that is when the name becomes a negative. Either it be spanish or english or french or italian... the demographic shouldn't be distracted from renting just because of a name.

It's almost stating that no one other than those of spanish decent would ever consider living in cities like San Jose or Costa Mesa. And we all know that is not the case.

I would allow the owner to do what he feels if right for the property and support him and if you disagree then find evidence to support your claim and allow the facts to speak for themselves.

I'm kind of suprised this would be an issue in Texas. I'm in California which like Texas has a large Hispanic propulation. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, etc all have many communities with Spanish names that aren't necessarily targeting the Hispanic population (and I'm sure you notice all of the city names are Spanish also...) I don't even think people make the distinction here anymore when looking at names. It's so common to see that it's a non-issue. It's just suprising to see that it would be in Texas. That being said I would definitley stay away from a proper name such as the owners name. That in any state dates the property as being built and named pre-80's. Think "Lincoln Arms" or "Horace Heidt Estates". Yeesh.

I agree with Pedro and Chrissy, a name is a name, it's what you make it. If you have a negative attitude towards the name soon the staff and the residents will as well.

I also agree with Pedro and Chrissy! Changing the name of the property wil not change the perception that folks have of the property, be it an old or new property. The on- site team will make the difference! What changes are THEY willing to make. A big change will have be their attitude toward the property and it's residents!

The truth is that your community has a strong hispanic base already. There are many restaurants and busniness that feature a Spanish influence. Granted everyone may not be able to roll their "r"s correctly or pronouce "ll" with the "y" sound, but most people are amused with trying. My husband was going to open a glass business and asked my opinion about naming his company Vazquez Glass. He thought that it may cause some people not to call him. My response was that you wouldn't want to work for someone who didn't want to hire you because you were Mexican anyways. If your community is filled with hispanic people and someone doesn't want to live in your community because of the hispanic name, they probably weren't a good fit for your community anyways. As for worries about your occupany, hispanic refer at the highest rate statistically and stay longer, so you may even get a helping hand with your numbers.