Charlie Miller of M5 Advisors, formerly at Brookfield Properties, argues that landlords must build for the digital experiences tenants already expect, from phone access to reliable wireless. He says technology needs a seat at the design table early.

Charlie Miller, Digital Experience & Innovation Lead, M5 Advisors

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In this conversation

How Charlie went from hand-kerning type in QuarkXPress to leading digital experience innovation at Brookfield Properties, and what graphic design taught him about scale and detail.

Why tapping a phone at the turnstile is the right goal, and why it is so hard to build an ROI model that convinces underwriters to pay for it.

His argument that great wireless connectivity is table stakes, even though calls still drop in elevators and EV chargers sit in garages with no signal.

How the digital twin at Manhattan West lets the chief engineer see any machine's full maintenance history on an iPad instead of hunting through rolls of plotter drawings.

Why landlords should use parking, plazas, signage and loyalty programs to build direct relationships with shoppers, and think more like digitally native companies.

His view that the one thing that will not change is that consumer expectations keep changing, so technology plans should stay flexible.

I would argue that digital and technology deserve a seat at that table from early in the development process and the design process.

Charlie Miller

Chapters

From graphic design to real estate

Charlie's path from corporate identity work to technology strategy, and the parallels between design tools and building tools.

Building for the phone in your pocket

Why buildings must support the digital services people already expect, all rooted in connectivity.

The ROI problem and the design table

Why great experiences are hard to underwrite, and why technology needs a seat at the design table early.

What buildings need to have

Wireless connectivity, EV charging and tenant apps as table stakes, plus how he evaluates vendors and leans on a peer network.

Doing more with less

The Manhattan West digital twin and landlords building direct relationships with the people on their properties.

AI and what will not change

Generative AI as an efficiency tool and a source of design options, and planning for shifting consumer expectations.

I always joke that the role of innovation in commercial real estate can be a pretty lonely role.

Charlie Miller

Takeaways

Great wireless connectivity is table stakes, yet calls still drop in elevators and EV chargers sit in garages with no signal.

It is hard to build an ROI model for a great experience, so Miller looks for solutions that also show operational savings the underwriters will accept.

Digital and technology deserve a seat at the design table early, because adding something to the budget late is much harder.

At Brookfield's Manhattan West, the chief engineer can pull up any equipment's maintenance history on an iPad instead of digging through plotter rolls.

Landlords should think like digitally native companies and use parking, plazas and signage to build direct relationships with the people on site.

Landlords and developers need to think more like digitally native companies rather than like traditional real estate landlords and developers.

Charlie Miller