Lexington, KY - While Bo Howell's official job title at Hamburg Farms is sales manager, he's also taken on a number of additional roles lately, including social director, community organizer, event planner and philanthropic recruiter.
Howell has made it part of his mission at the office to encourage the young professionals who live at the complex to get involved and get connected in Lexington.
He has hosted fundraisers, complete with live entertainment, food and drink, to raise money for local initiatives ranging from Women Leading Kentucky scholarships to Toys for Tots drives at the development's $2 million clubhouse. He's recruited volunteers to give their time to local philanthropic causes like the Makenna Foundation, and he's rounded up residents to participate in Lexington Young Professional Association (LYPA) outings to Lexington Legends games and downtown pub crawls.
Why? Because in addition to being good for Lexington, it's good for his business, Howell said.
For Howell, who is also vice president of the Lexington Young Professionals Association, talented young adults are more likely to stay in Lexington, both as his clients and as productive citizens, if they build stronger connections to the community. And in Howell's experience, all it takes is someone to open the door.
"I want them to buy into the organizations and the community," Howell said. "Everything we try to do here is based around people networking and giving back to the community. If they want to get out and get involved with organizations, (those organizations) are right here in their neighborhood."
Hamburg Farms, located along Sir Barton Way adjacent to Hamburg Pavilion, is owned by the 13-year-old Columbus, Ohio-based development company Lifestyle Communities, which manages more than 7,000 apartment and condo units in Kentucky and Ohio. Lifestyle Communities has developed its company's brand around offering lifestyle-enhancing opportunities focused toward young professionals, as opposed to sticking to a more bricks-and-mortar mentality.
While the amenities of Hamburg Pavilion can be attractive to young professionals looking to set up house in Lexington, the distance to downtown can make it more daunting for them to connect with the entertainment and community groups that are centered at the city's core. Howell's strategy has been to bridge that distance by bringing those organizations to the development, inviting them to introduce themselves to the neighborhood residents at social functions, wine tastings and other gatherings held at Hamburg Farms.
According to Howell, it hasn't been a hard sell at the development, which includes a total of 221 apartments and 150 condos sold, with almost 100 more condos planned.
Young homeowners and renters who are new to the community have shown interest in getting involved, Howell said, even in a tough economy.
"In this economy, people still want to give back," Howell said. "Maybe they can't give money, but they can give time. Or they can spend their money for entertainment that also helps a worthy cause."
Helping his clients to build stronger connections with the larger Lexington community will keep them in town longer and contribute to a more vibrant social scene for local young professionals, Howell said. It also helps to make the city more attractive to the economically promising, but often elusive, creative workforce that so many communities, including Lexington, are looking to woo.
The need to attract and retain talented young people has been cited as a driving force behind local quality-of-life initiatives, ranging from the enhancement of the city's nightlife and entertainment options to the development of more walking and biking trails and outdoor amenities. According to Richard Florida's book The Rise of the Creative Class, which has been referenced by Mayor Jim Newberry in his efforts to enhance the city's attractiveness to young professionals, this creative workforce fuels some of the fastest growing industries in the modern economy, including science, engineering, education, architecture, health care and entrepreneurial business. A ready workforce and a community that caters to the needs of this young professional demographic, according to Florida and others, can make a city more appealing to start-up companies and relocating new economy businesses.
After becoming involved in the Lexington Young Professionals Association, Howell said, it didn't take long for him to make the connection between what LYPA and Lexington were trying to accomplish in building and retaining that workforce and the needs and interests of the tenants and homeowners at Hamburg Farms, many of whom are part of that young professional demographic. For Howell, who was recruited to take over Hamburg Farm's operations in May 2006 after the first few buildings were completed, his facilitation of that relationship-building effort is simply an added service for his clients.
"We try our best to get residents out there and involved in what Lexington is doing," he said. "And hopefully it gets them to stay here a little bit longer, rather than (Lexington) suffering from the brain drain."
In addition to attracting and retaining talent from outside the region, Howell hopes it will also help to keep young professionals who may be employed and educated in Lexington from moving to outlying counties. In terms of his own business, Howell said his efforts have paid off for him. Hamburg Farms has been a top community in Fayette County for the past three years in terms of the number of condos sold, Howell said, and he attributes that in part to their efforts to provide avenues for residents looking to build community connections.
"A lot of builders try to develop a community, and we try to develop a lifestyle," Howell said. "It really has made a difference by being able to bring this to them."