MF Industry Experts Blaylock and Lecocke Join Phoenix Property’s New Management Division

GrandMarc in Charlottesville, Va.

Dallas–JoAnn Blaylock and Stacey Lecocke, two well-known multifamily industry veterans, have taken positions at the top of the masthead at Dallas-based Phoenix’s property management division, which is committed to providing superior service for residents, investors and owners of luxury and student housing communities.

Both Blaylock and Lecocke bring to the table a long history in the multifamily world, with the two having served 21 years and 15 years, respectively, at multifamily real estate company JPI. “We were able to create a strong property management company there and then we transitioned to property management company Greystar at the end of 2008,” Blaylock tells MHN. “We joined Phoenix Property Management because we wanted the opportunity to create a boutique management concern. We’ve spent the last three months building the management platform, relying on best practices from our histories.” Blaylock

Blaylock has taken on the title of senior vice president of Phoenix Property Management, while Lecocke has stepped into the role of vice president of Grand Campus Living Management, the company’s student housing arm. “Our roles give us the ability to be employee-centered and control the environment of the corporate culture,” Lecocke tells MHN.

Indeed, Blaylock and Lecocke are qualified to achieve the goals of the new division. In a prepared statement, Jason Runnels, principal of the Phoenix Property Company, notes that they are “experienced professionals who know how to create quality environments, maximize operational efficiencies and provide superior customer-focused service.”

Every sector of the commercial real estate industry, multifamily and student housing markets included, suffered the consequences of the economic downturn. However, the multifamily sector is in recovery mode and the student housing sector managed to keep its head above water during the crisis. “Although we’re not seeing the revenue we saw back in 2005 and 2006, we are still seeing an increase in revenue of about 3 percent; we’ve been able to maintain that or better year-over-year since 2008,” Lecocke says. “We’ve seen some decline in rent growth, but overall, we are still able to fill our communities. It’s not recession-proof, but it is a stabilized niche for getting returns.”

Phoenix Property Management will concentrate mainly on the student living sector this year, before turning the focus to its conventional management solution in 2011. “We’re getting the platform ready to roll out to a larger audience,” Blaylock notes.

For both student housing and multifamily, the team has one goal. According to Blaylock, “It all centers on the best people, the best processes and the best performance for our customers and investors.”