Developers need marketing input from the outset, says Elliman’s development marketing CEO

Development firms that build high-stakes residential buildings in New York City should adopt marketers as “integral members” of the team from the outset, Douglas Elliman Development Marketing President and CEO Susan de Franca told the New York Times.

She said the marketing team should assist in what kind of property is built, what demographics it should appeal to, who the architect and interior designer should be, and ultimately what the layouts and unit mixes look like.

De Franca, based out of Elliman’s 575 Madison Avenue headquarters, was hired by the firm last July from Related, where she handled sales at the Time Warner Center and Superior Ink.

De Franca said she is currently working on the Setai Residences at 400 Fifth Avenue, where slightly more than 50 percent of the units have sold at an average price per square foot of $1,720, which she conceded was well below the $1,900 average before Elliman took over from an in-house team last April. She’s also leading sales at Tempo, on 23rd Street and Second Avenue, that’s sold 55 percent of its units at about $1,300 per square foot.

Moreover, she’s helping plan the Witkoff Group’s 91 condominium units at 150 Charles Street, where construction should be underway by September. Finally, she’s in the planning phases with Witkoff and Prudential Douglas Elliman Chairman Howard Lorber at 1107 Broadway, which will become 127 condo units, and with Vornado Realty Trust and HFZ Capital Group for a condo conversion at 11 East 68th Street. [NYT]