A Look Back at 2023
It’s hard to believe we are coming to a close on another year at T.R. McKenzie. We want to thank all of our residents, real estate clients, business partners, and employees for being a part of another successful year. This September, we celebrated 20 years of T.R. McKenzie Inc. Learn more about how we navigated the ups and downs of our company over the last 20 years here. We are so proud to have made it to this milestone and look forward to many more years of successful real estate and property management opportunities.
A cornerstone to success is learning and growth. In 2023, we created new avenues for our team to collaborate and communicate. We invested in exciting new projects and evaluated our what was important for our team’s success. This included formalized committees focusing on volunteer opportunities, leadership development, wellness, and social events. We are proud of the strides we made in 2023 and look forward to another great year. Let’s take a look back at some of our accomplishments over the last 12 months.
Apartment Life
One of the most significant accomplishments was completion of The Esker Apartments & Townhomes property. We first broke ground on this new multi-family apartment community in 2020 and opened in a phased approach, starting in 2021. We completed our final buildings, pool, and outdoor facilities this summer. This property consists of four apartment buildings and 4 townhome buildings, offering studio, one, two and three-bedroom rental options. Located off Raymond Road and S. High Point Road near University Ridge, this pet-friendly community offers an elevated rental experience with upscale finishes, large open kitchens, and modern design.
This year, in lieu of separate pool parties for each property, we hosted our first Summer Block Party for all residents to join. We took over the Stone Creek Gardens parking lot and hosted food trucks, bouncy houses, carnival style games, music, raffle prizes, and had our friends from Shelter from the Storm Animal Rescue set up a booth with pets available for adoption! This new event was a huge success with lots of residents who joined in on the fun and mingled with staff and neighbors. Check it out here.
We also had 64% residents renew their leases at a T.R. McKenzie property. Thanks to all of those who chose to stay with T.R. McKenzie properties – it is a huge compliment when people love where they live so much they choose to stay year after year.
Real Estate Team
Anyone looking to buy or sell this past year knows what a competitive market it still is in our region. Year to date, our team of Realtors collectively has completed 68 transactions totaling over $27.2 million in volume. We are so proud of our real estate team for continuing to be successful when less people are choosing to buy due to the competitive market and high interest rates.
In 2023, we launched the pre-sales of the Monarch Lakeview condominiums in Beaver Dam. If you have ever dreamt of a second home on a lake, you need to check out this new lakeside community in Beaver Dam, WI. Located on the beautiful Beaver Dam Lake (less than an hour from the Madison area), this development will have two-bedroom villas and three-bedroom lakefront flats, with 800 feet of lake frontage, private boat slips, and attached garages for your own slice of lakeside bliss! The developer plans to break ground in 2024, with planned completion in October, but you can learn all about these properties now and reserve your future lakeside home! You can email us directly at monarch@trmckenzie.com for more information.
We helped 27 former residents move on from renting and become homeowners this year through our exclusive Home Buyer Program available to T.R. McKenzie property residents. This Program allows current T.R. McKenzie residents to be released from their lease when they purchase a home with one of our in-house Realtors. Exclusions apply, learn more about this program and how to apply here: T.R. McKenzie Home Buyer Program.
If you or anyone you know is interested in buying a home, let T.R. McKenzie Realtors be your first stop to get non-biased information on how to get started. There’s a lot of information out there and the market is ever-changing, so let our team simplify the home-buying process and get you into your dream home!
New Projects and Developments
In addition to our property management and real estate brokerage, we also have a team that focuses on new developments in the Madison area. These developments range from developing land to sell or build, building new homes or condos, or developing new apartment communities.
Our new projects in 2023 included getting approval for 420 new apartments units in the City of Middleton, acquiring a 5-acre parcel approved for 165 apartment units on the east side of Madison, and acquiring a 15-acre parcel for a future housing development on the West side of Madison.
In 2023, we took on outside investor equity for the first time in the purchase of a stabilized asset. If you are interested in investment opportunities, contact acrooks@trmckenzie.com.
T.R. McKenzie is a principal member and on the board of directors for Smart Growth Greater Madison. We are also members of the Madison Area Builders Association.
Charitable Giving & Volunteering
We want to give a special thanks to our Volunteer Committee that coordinated several opportunities for team to work with local charities and non-profit organizations this year. We are proud that so many members of our team chose to participate in and donate their time and energy to help out these great causes and make these volunteering events possible.
T.R. McKenzie has always been a big supporter of Easterseals Wisconsin. Our Principal Broker and Developer, Andy Crooks, has been elected to a second term as Chairman of the Board for Easterseals Wisconsin. Our Director of Facilities, Kristen Eastman, has also volunteered to join the Easterseals Wisconsin Camp Committee and start working on facilities plan and preventative maintenance schedule for Camp Wawbeek and the Respite camp in Wisconsin Dells, which have been serving campers with disabilities for almost 100 years.
We hosted our 5th Charity Golf Outing this year benefitting UW Carbone Cancer Center in memory of our founder Tim McKenzie. We took over all 27 holes at Pleasant View Golf Course in Middleton and had a fun day playing golf, visiting with friends and business partners, and raising money for a great cause. Our total donated this year was $29,693, bringing our grand total donated to UW Carbone Cancer Center since 2018 to over $125,000. We can’t wait to continue this tradition – keep an eye out for a save the date for 2024’s golf outing!
Here’s a summary of our charitable contributions and volunteering opportunities from 2023:
- Toys for Tots – Donated $500 of Toys
- Free Bikes for Kids – Donated used 100 bikes
- Santa’s Without Chimneys – Gift Wrapping Event
- Madison Reading Project – Book Drive and Onsite Assembly Support for Activity Packets
- Habitat for Humanity – Volunteer Day
- MABA Boys & Girls Club –Built 20 Little Free Libraries for Madison Reading Project
- Ronald McDonald House – Meal Preparation
- Earth Day Clean Up
- UW Carbone Cancer Center – Golf Outing Beneficiary: Donated $29,693
- Easter Seals – Chairman of the Board, Facilities Management Support for Camp Wawbeek and Respite Camp
- Shelter from the Storm Animal Rescue – Donated $500 and hosted animal supplies drive with residents
- NBC15 Share your Holidays Food Drive for Second Harvest – Collected over 300lbs of food
- Sponsored T-Shirts for Ketchum’s Ride
- Strike Out Cancer – Donated $500
- Bowlin for Colins UW Foundation – Donated $500
- Toys for Tots Donations
Our Team
Our team is the backbone of our company, and many of our employees hold multiple roles to help keep us on track. This year, we celebrated some exciting milestones with our staff:
Apoo Reddy celebrated her 5-year anniversary with T.R. McKenzie and was promoted to Senior Project Manager at a new property.
Other work anniversaries in 2023 included:
Mara Patterson (Director of Accounting) – 20 years
Jessie Hanlon (Senior Director of Property Management) – 12 years
Ellen Meier (Director of Operations) – 11 years
Brett Myers (Construction Manager) – 11 years
Rick Arsenault (Maintenance Technician) – 9 years
Andy Crooks (Principal Broker and Developer) – 8 years
Mitch Proctor (Maintenance Technician) – 7 years
Thank you again for a great year at T.R. McKenzie and we look forward to 2024!