Cienna Varsity Ridge

Michael Coe, General Manager and principal of Cienna Living explains. “Our vision is to do things differently to other rental providers.” One key goal of Cienna’s was to reduce friction between the building management and residents. Their goal was to do this by giving residents autonomy over their home – deciding who comes in and out, for example, or self-managing access to the shared facilities. “That is how we create a true sense of belonging”, says Michael. “But of course, on the other hand, it can’t be too open, because access must never be at the cost of security. Our residents must all feel safe in their homes.”

Michael leads the Living Management Team, which serves and supports the residents throughout their time at Varsity Ridge. “Living Management is a paperless process,” he explains, “It is based on the BuildingLink property management system and integrated with the Salto’s KS smart access control software.”

Residents manage access to their Varsity Ridge home themselves via a smartphone app. Their phone doubles up as their ‘key’ or they can use a physical card or fob smart credentials. The same system gives them access to the car park, reception area, lifts, their own apartment unit doors and the shared facilities. They can choose to grant access to friends and family to make receiving visitors easy, whether they’re at home themselves or not. Residents can use the app to book, say, the barbecue area or residents’ lounge, and their booking details are automatically sent to Salto KS, which gives them exclusive access at the reserved time. 

“The whole system is automated”, explains Michael. “When their tenancy is approved, their details flow through into the Building Link and Salto KS systems. Once they have been authorised for the areas they are allowed to access, they don’t have to constantly go back to the building management team every time for approval. The resident has autonomy and independence, and the site remains secure and safe.”

The system not only makes residents’ lives easier, but is a dream for Cienna to operate. Because it’s cloud-based, Michael’s team can manage it from anywhere – onsite or off. He tells the story of a resident who was using the community pool when she realised she had left not only her smart key fob, but her phone, inside her apartment. “She simply asked another resident to call the Living Management team”, he says, “and when the call came through, which was to me, I was able to open her apartment remotely, from my home. She was back in her home in an instant, and we didn’t have the cost or hassle of calling out locksmiths.”

Michael’s team has complete visibility of who is accessing, or attempting to access, which areas, through the Salto KS audit trail feature. “This allows us to plan resources, and gives us a heads up about any potential issues before they happen”, explains Michael.