Partnership with Private Housing Company

​TSP is particularly proud of our partnership with Trek Development, a private housing developer and management company in Pittsburgh, Pa.   Like many clients, we were first engaged to support a new, energetic resident services staff person as she developed new resident engagement practices for the company.  Our work quickly expanded. Over our three-year partnership, which is still on-going, we have supported this innovative, committed company in transforming the way they operate, internally and externally, especially as it relates to the task of managing their portfolio of 17 complexes, a growing number of which are redeveloped public housing communities.

  We encourage others in the affordable housing industry to take note of Trek’s accomplishments and to consider taking similar actions within your spheres of influence:
 
Creation of a Hospitality Covenant Framework to Shift Operating Culture - 100% of Trek staff have pledged to uphold three core “behavior based covenants” and are in the process of seeking the pledges of 100% residents in two pilot communities.  For a copy of these covenants, and six accompanying daily practices, click here.
 
Prioritization of Internal Housing Management Company to Ensure Quality – Like many real estate development companies, Trek discovered the challenge of ensuring quality management, alongside their reputation as high quality developers.  With our support and other human resource partners, Trek has pursued a different approach to filling both senior and front line staff, including the recruitment of resident services staff to transition into housing managers and supervisors.
 
Unique Approach to Site Staff Operations – As part of this emphasis on quality housing management, Trek is piloting a site staff approach where all staff members are cross-trained in the three core functions or leasing, maintenance and resident services, and meet weekly to cross-collaborate on a set of annual goals for community transformation.
 
Robust PHA Partnership to Implement TSP’s Community Network Building (CNB) Approach - Trek’s commitment to partnering with residents, and use of TSP’s successful CNB approach, was one of the reasons the Housing Authority of Pittsburgh selected the local company to partner on a Choice Planning Grant for a challenging neighboring in the Hill District in Pittsburgh.  The two year process, which included many creative outreach moments and the co-hosting of monthly network nights for 18 consecutive months (and still on-going), resulted in a much broader set of residents participating in the planning process and in positive shifts in the way HACP staff operates.