How Washington Property Company Uses EV Charging to Foster a Sustainable and Resident-Centered Community
In its efforts to build a strong community at Solaire 8200 Dixon, Washington Property Company (WPC) goes out of its way to deliver the amenities that its residents most need and value. With many of those same residents sharing a passion for the environment and sustainability, WPC decided it was time to install EV charging stations.
But WPC also wanted to make sure that it approached this initiative with an eye on long-term success. Not only did it want its new charging solution to support resident needs today, but it also sought to ensure an easy path to adding more chargers in the future as more residents adopt electric vehicles.
A Community-First Approach to Property Management
Washington Property Company owns and manages a number of multifamily properties in downtown Bethesda, Maryland. Known for its “community-first” philosophy, WPC prioritizes creating sustainable and resident-focused environments over pure profit. This approach has helped the company build a reputation for fostering a sense of belonging while offering amenities that resonate with environmentally conscious tenants.
“The residents at 8200 Dixon desire traditional amenities like swimming pools and common areas in which to socialize, but also place great importance on living in a building that has a minimal impact on the environment,” said Jeff Long, a property manager for Solaire 8200 Dixon. “They want to be part of a community that has a purpose at the end of the day and that’s something that we’ve seen more and more of in our renter base.”
Drawing a crowd of residents who place great importance on the environment, WPC began to explore ways to meet its community’s desire to promote more sustainable living. As part of that—and in response to growing demand for onsite EV charging—it decided to install EV chargers for use by residents.
Through this process, WPC partnered with Pangea Charging and SWTCH, installing seven EV chargers and creating the foundation for future expansion when more residents are driving electric and need a place to plug in.
Seamless implementation and a great charging experience
According to Long, partnering with Pangea Charging and SWTCH made a world of difference in simplifying the process of going from idea to installation to operation.
As the project kicked off, Long said he gained a new level of appreciation for the guidance and collaboration he received. “There’s a lot of different pieces to this that we need to project manage, and having somebody like Anup from Pangea come in and really grab hold of it all was exactly what we needed.”
Once the chargers were up and running, Long credits the SWTCH platform’s multifamily focus with allowing for the ongoing success of the operation, saying that the charging experience is incredibly intuitive. “We’ve got nobody, not one person to show up and say to us, ‘How am I supposed to use these?”
For WPC, the investment in EV charging isn’t just about keeping up with trends—it’s about creating a more sustainable future for its residents and properties.
Looking ahead, WPC plans to expand EV charging access across its portfolio, ensuring that nearly all of its 1,800 units will have charging capabilities by the end of the year.
EV charging: A differentiator that’s easy to manage
In a competitive rental market, providing EV charging stations is about more than offering convenience—it’s about creating a strategic advantage. For WPC, having chargers onsite can help attract and retain sustainably minded residents, continuing to build its community of individuals passionate about green living.
The EV chargers also offer plenty of support to WPC’s property management operations. SWTCH provides detailed usage analytics, enabling the team to monitor charger utilization and resident adoption rates with ease. “When I log in, I’m able to see exactly the information that I want on usage,” Long said. “Are we charging? Is it appealing to our residents? It’s very intuitive. It’s very easy to get the information that we find important.”
The result is a compelling amenity to support attracting and retaining residents, but which requires very little input from the team managing the property.
Using chargers to drive LEED Gold Certification
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is a globally recognized framework for green buildings, rewarding properties that prioritize efficiency, sustainability, and reduced environmental impact.
For Solaire 8200 Dixon, the addition of EV charging stations played a key role in achieving the points needed for LEED Gold certification. In particular, it was the ratio of EV chargers to units that provided a strong boost, with Long estimating that 1,600 of the 1,800 total units in the portfolio will have access to EV charging.
“Attaining LEED certification, in part due to our charger installation, was an excellent way to demonstrate that Washington Property Company has heard the voices of its residents and is acting to give them what they want,“ Long said.
It is worth noting, too, that Solaire 8200 Dixon’s LEED Gold certification was the highest certification level WPC has received for any of its properties—a fine testament to the power of EV charging.
By taking a thoughtful approach to green building practices and thinking not just of resident needs today, but also those of residents well into the future, WPC has positioned itself as a forward-thinking and genuine builder of community.
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