Celebrating 45 Years: 45 Fun Facts About P.B. Bell

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In honor of celebrating 45 years in the Valley, here are 45 fun facts about P.B. Bell that you may not know:

Past

  1. April 1, 1976, P.B. Bell was founded. 
  2. In 1980, P.B. Bell had its first development, The Greens Apartments.
  3. In 1983, P.B. Bell’s current President & Designated Broker of Property Management Services, Debbie Willis, started her career within the company as a temporary accounts payable position.
  4. In elementary school, R. Chapin Bell, P.B. Bell’s current CEO, worked as a groundskeeper cleaning pools, turning apartments and learning the ropes of the trade.
  5. In 1985, P.B. Bell became the first property management company to put computers on site at its communities in the Phoenix market.
  6. In 1993, Chapin joined P.B. Bell as a Project Manager and Portfolio Director.
  7. In 2004, P.B. Bell developed the first mid-rise community, Providence on Central. 
  8. In 1997, P.B. Bell included the first built-in workstations in units at The Carlyle Apartments. 
  9. In 2004, P.B. Bell managed retail locations in both Tucson and Phoenix. 
  10. In 2001, P.B. Bell was awarded the National Apartment Association PARAGON Development Award for the Best Luxury Garden Apartment Community, High Desert Village Apartments.
  11. In 2007, Philip Bell was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement award as one of the founders of the AMA.
  12. In 2014, P.B. Bell added the first dog park and dog spa at Almeria at Ocotillo.
  13. To celebrate P.B. Bell’s 40th anniversary, P.B. Bell gave back to residents and local charities, including Cardons Children’s Hospital, Mom’s Pantry, Central Arizona Shelter Services, United Food Bank, local school districts, UMOM New Day Centers and United Blood Services, through 40 random acts of kindness.  
  14. In 2017, P.B. Bell entered the Prescott Valley market with its third-party management services. 
  15. P.B. Bell established its Culture Club in 2017, focusing on core values: Get Creative, Act With Integrity, Be Accountable, Show You Care, and Enjoy the Ride. 
  16. In 2019, Chapin stepped up to take over the role of CEO after his father, Philip, stepped down to retire.
  17. In 2018, P.B. Bell was the largest donor to the Arizona Multihousing Charitable Foundation for the third year running.
  18. Velaire at Aspera was ranked #1 in the nation for customer service presented by J Turner Research in 2017.

 

Present

  1. Today, P.B. Bell owns and/or manages multifamily communities in most submarkets in the greater Phoenix area.
  2. P.B. Bell continues to increase presence in Prescott with the addition of Willow Creek.  
  3. At P.B. Bell’s 2019 holiday party, the team raised $8,200 for a local charity, Treasure House, benefiting a supportive living community for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
  4. In December 2020, P.B. Bell was selected as one of Phoenix Business Journal’s Best Places to Work for the third year in a row!
  5. Alongside being awarded in previous years, P.B. Bell has won the AMA Developer of the Year Award three years running. 
  6. P.B. Bell was ranked as a Top Company to Work forin Arizona by AZCentral in 2020.
  7. In February 2021, P.B. Bell opened Grayson Place, a $55M luxury community in Goodyear 
  8. In the fall of 2020, P.B. Bell rolled out the most robust development pipeline in company history. Read more here.
  9. Copper Falls, a luxury community near the Cardinal Stadium in Glendale, features P.B. Bell’s largest pool to date at 100,000 gallons of water.
  10. Copper Falls leased-up in under 11 months with 100% virtual and self-guided tours, as of February 2021.  
  11. Parke Place pre-leased 56 homes prior (39.31%). to its opening on April 5, 2021.
  12. P.B. Bell rolls out self-guided & virtual tours at all communities.
  13. P.B. Bell introduces virtual events to the mix for resident events to help connect with the residents. 
  14. P.B. Bell launches Yardi’s Aspire virtual online learning platform in August 2020.
  15. In 2020, the P. B. Bell team hosted a sock drive and encouraged employees and vendors to donate — the team’s efforts gathered more than 3,200 socks to be donated to St. Vincent De Paul.
  16. Smart Home technology pilot program launched in 2020 with Cox Communications at Grayson Place and Paradise @ P83. Technology features app controlled smart locks, thermostats and lights.
  17. The average tenure for a P.B. Bell employee is 5.8 years compared to the industry’s current average of 3.6 years. The longest is 38 years. 
  18. P.B. Bell continues to leverage animation technology to help gain traction on preleasing traffic for Kalon Luxury Apartments.
  19. P.B. Bell consistently ranks above the national average for resident and prospect satisfaction through J Turner Research.
  20. P.B. Bell’s Marketing Director, Kristina Rauscher, was recently recognized as a Fabulous Person in Fab AZ. 
  21. P.B. Bell hired 44 new employees from March 2020 – March 2021.
  22. During COVID-19, P.B. Bell maintained a portfolio average occupancy of 95%, monthly collected revenue averaged 96-97% and the team successfully continued construction and lease up on new developments. 

 

Future

  1. To celebrate 45 years, P.B. Bell plans to spread kindness during the month of April through random acts of kindness to its employees, residents and owners. 
  2. P.B. Bell stays on all trends and incorporates them into its communities. For example, there’s a drastic increase in work-from-home employees, naturally allowing the workstation to make a comeback. P.B. Bell is already incorporating the feature in new designs.
  3. P.B. Bell continues plans to revamp amenities in future developments to accommodate for social distancing.
  4. P.B. Bell’s CEO, Chapin Bell, meets with GlobeSt. to discuss the trend and draw to the single-family market — something the industry can expect to continue in years to come. 
  5. P.B. Bell has six new properties coming within the next two years and three 3rd party management lease-up communities:
    • Zaterra, the largest community P.B. Bell has ever built (392 units) is coming to Chandler in 2021
    • Kalon Luxury Apartments (215 units) is
      coming to Phoenix late-2021
    • Hangar at Thunderbird (266 units) is coming to Glendale early-2022
    • Inspira Gateway Senior Living Community, P.B. Bell’s second senior living community, is  coming to Mesa early-2022
    • To help revitalize the Mesa neighborhood, P.B. Bell plans to open The Landing at Fiesta Village (220 units) in mid-2022  
    • Gilbert Commons (205 units) is opening mid-2022 in Gilbert 
    • The Common (130 units) is opening in Phoenix early-2022
      • Third-party management lease up community by Phoenix Rising Investments 
    • Solace at Ballpark Village in Goodyear (211 units) is slated to open in late 2022
      • Third-party management lease up community by Jackson Dearborn Partners
    • Glen91 (296 units) is slated to open in the fall of 2022 in Glendale
      • Third-party management lease up community by HCW Development

The P.B. Bell team has been fortunate to continue to serve the Arizona multifamily industry for 45 years. Thank you for following along with us on our journey!