MAA Milepost 35 is a large multifamily community east of Downtown Denver in the Central Park neighborhood, which replaced Denver’s Stapleton International Airport.

Red Propeller worked with MAA and the rest of the project team to define the target audience for the community and then develop the project vision, strategy, name, and brand, integrate the story and brand throughout the community, and, finally, train the leasing team in how to sell the story to potential residents who have many competing offerings from which to choose.

A distinctive story

Central Park (as the name implies) is convenient to a range of adventures – from shopping and dining in the neighborhood to a night out in Downtown Denver to cheering on the Colorado Rapids to exploring the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and much, much more. It sits on the site of the former Stapleton Runway 35, which connected Denver to the rest of the country and the world, and along longstanding and significant surface routes – from early trails through today’s Interstate 70 – linking Denver to the east and west.

The story of Milepost 35 embraces these connections and the many adventures within easy reach. Red Propeller helped the project team integrate this story throughout the community, including nods to the former airport and runway, a historic image wall featuring a variety of local lifestyle elements, a gear room with maintenance/repair stations, old skis on the wall, and a mounted bike map surrounded by race bibs (residents are encouraged to add new bibs from their races), a compass sculpture beside the pool, and buildings named for historic routes from Denver across the Rockies. The community also offers a variety of home sizes – one through three bedrooms, including townhomes – serving multiple life mileposts, from early career to promotion to coupling up to starting a family.

Training the leasing team to sell the story

Training the leasing team to sell the story of Milepost 35 started with ensuring they had a deep understanding of the target audience, the story, and how the story is integrated throughout the community.

Tour path

At least as important was teaching a different approach to leasing – one that creates a true connection with prospects beyond the basics (what size home are you looking for, how much do you want to spend, when are you looking to move) and sells the lifestyle and experience of the community rather than just reciting its attributes (lounge, fitness center, pool, unit types, etc.). This approach is at the heart of StorySelling.

Once leasing team members understood the community’s story (and story integration) and the StorySelling approach, Red Propeller worked with them to define the tour path, including stops and talking points at each stop. Finally, we spent a day personalizing the tour to each team member, so it felt genuine, rather than scripted.

The StorySelling approach has paid off at many communities across the country, including Milepost 35. Red Propeller conducted the StorySelling Academy training there in late February 2024, shortly after the community started leasing. By the third quarter of 2024, the project was 93% occupied, compared with an average of 87% in the submarket, according to CoStar. Milepost 35 averaged more than five leases a week from the beginning of March 2024 through the end of 2024, according to HelloData. That’s nearly twice the average for recently delivered competitors, none of which averaged more than four.