How Owner-Controlled Data & Digital Infrastructure Delivered ~$6.3M in Asset Value on a New-Build Multifamily Property

A 299-unit Class A multifamily property was under development with a 2020 delivery date. The original plans called for conventional low-voltage systems: separate vendor-specific cabling for access control, video surveillance, smart locks, and tenant WiFi, each with its own hub, repeater, and closet requirements. The resulting design included redundant cable runs, dedicated in-unit and corridor hardware for each vendor system, and closet space that could otherwise be rentable square footage.

The owner had a choice: build the conventional way and inherit fragmented, vendor-locked data and digital infrastructure from day one, or bring in a partner to design owner-controlled data and digital infrastructure before the walls closed.

OpticWise engaged during design through its Digital Infrastructure Engine™, a process that applies the SIC® (Security, Infrastructure, and Connectivity) engineering standard to consolidate the entire low-voltage and data and digital infrastructure design before construction begins. Instead of building separate networks for each building system, OpticWise designed a single owner-controlled backbone that carries all systems on one converged, segmented, and governed network.

The Digital Infrastructure Engine™ eliminated redundant IDF closets, vendor-specific hub and repeater hardware, and duplicate cabling runs. That consolidation freed enough square footage to create three additional rentable units that did not exist in the original plan. It also removed approximately $355,000 in construction costs that would have been spent on conventional, fragmented low-voltage systems.

After construction, OpticWise implemented and now operates the property’s data and digital infrastructure under a managed services agreement: 5S® WiFi delivered as a tenant amenity, building automation monitoring via the BoT® (Building of Things®) platform, and the owner-controlled intelligence layer enabling utilities optimization, insurance narrative improvement, and operational efficiency. The engagement follows the PPP 5C™ plan: Clarify, Connect, Collect, Coordinate, Control.

Because OpticWise was engaged during design, the Digital Infrastructure Engine™ savings exceeded the total cost of the owner-controlled data and digital infrastructure. The owner was cash-positive before operations began.

With owner-controlled data and digital infrastructure in place, OpticWise activated both the income stack and the expense stack, generating NOI from day one of operations.

Capitalized at a 4.25% market cap rate, the annual NOI maps directly to asset valuation.

This property proves a principle that changes how owners should think about new construction: when data and digital infrastructure is designed as a single owner-controlled system from the start, it costs less than the conventional approach, generates recurring NOI from operations, and creates rentable space that would otherwise be consumed by vendor equipment.

The financial model above captures only direct NOI impact. Additional value from being future-ready and AI-capable, including data ownership, operational automation, and long-term competitive positioning, represents significant incremental upside not reflected in these figures.

The property traded in 2023. The data and digital infrastructure, and all the NOI it produces, transferred with the asset as a financeable revenue line.