Page 39 - BusinessWest July 25, 2022

The Appleton portfolio includes a diverse mix of properties, including the Springfield Technology Park.
educational facilities, and multi-family housing properties, including many that are subsidized, especially to senior populations, although some are market-rate.
“We manage properties that we own,” he explained. “But we also manage a lot of proper- ties for third parties that own buildings; we do a lot of management of facilities owned by govern- ment entities, such as the technology park and the rail stations.”
It’s a diverse portfolio, as he noted, and it includes everything from an Amazon ‘last-mile’
facility in Holyoke to a biotech research facility on the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. There are some established niches the company has developed, he said, adding that senior hous- ing has long been one of them.
Meanwhile, transportation-facility manage- ment has become another niche, he said, adding that there are unique qualities to managing such properties, including the “interface between the public and private,” as he called it.
“Springfield’s Union Station is a perfect example; you have users of the bus facilities here — the PVTA, Peter Pan, Greyhound — and you also have Amtrak and CT Rail bringing people
in on the tracks overhead, and all the people using those facilities circulating throughout the
concourse,” he explained. “At the same time,
you have several businesses that function there, so you have private folks parking in the garage, walking through the concourse, grabbing some- thing at Dunkin’ Donuts, and then going upstairs.
“Maintaining safe conditions, clean condi- tions, secure conditions, is an important element in managing those types of facilities,” he went on. “For us, it is a niche market, and one we will con- tinue to pursue.”
“The things that I learned about coaching my players transfer
so wonderfully to our life at the office. I learned that I can’t coach every player, and every employee, the same way; people respond
to different types of motivation, different types of stimulation.
”
Moving forward, and from a strategic perspec- tive, Appleton is focused on two key areas — business development and continuous improve- ment of the service provided to customers.
Overall, Flink said he has inherited a strong foundation and healthy portfolio from Stelzer, so he doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel, just main- tain and build what is in place, with a focus on people and giving them the tools they need to succeed.
Carol F. Campbell, President/CEO
Deb Dart, Director of Operations & Liz Sauer, Project Manger/Estimator
CIC is a
Woman Owned Business certified by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and WBENC, serving industry since 1992.
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