CapEV’s EV charging strategy positions Onni Group as a leader in sustainable real estate
When Onni Group decided to incorporate electric vehicle charging into its properties, it turned to CapEV, a specialized entity focusing on turnkey EV charging solutions. Dedicated to creating convenient, seamless EV charging experiences for guests and tenants, CapEV is building up an expansive portfolio of charging stations across various types of properties.
From residential buildings to offices, retail establishments, and hotels, CapEV’s ambitions cover a wide spectrum of the real estate space. With the help of SWTCH, it’s working hard to ensure every charger installed contributes to the goal of enabling a smooth EV transition for everyone living, working, and visiting its buildings.
One early example of Onni and CapEV’s approach to EV charging is Onni East Village,, a luxury rental building in Los Angeles. There, 30 chargers were installed for use by renters in the building, and demand is building quickly, to the point that there’s a waitlist for access.
A commitment to EV charging excellence
At launch in 2022, CapEV installed an initial batch of 95 chargers across 19 properties. Since then, the group has expanded to over 200 chargers across 35 properties under its management, both in the United States and in Canada. With an eye on servicing properties across the residential, commercial, and recreational spaces, CapEV is poised to become a key contributor to multitenant EV charging across the United States and Canada.
Paul Yioldassis, General Manager of CapEV Group, emphasizes that they approach each project with a meticulous eye on the details. “We meet with the client on-site. Depending on the size of the project, we bring an electrical consultant on-site with us in addition to a contractor. And so we walk the electrical room, walk the desired locations, get a sense of how everything will fit together. We’ll facilitate the rebate if there is a requirement for a rebate, as well as an EV load study, and then we’ll produce a proposal that will allow the project to meet the needs of the building and fit within the budget for the project.”
An investment in EV charging is a long-term prospect and one that costs far less when you get it right the first time. The care in planning that CapEV takes allows the group to ensure it is making the most of every project it oversees, maximizing value both for the property owner and for the drivers who will use the chargers that are installed.
Immediate benefits to offering EV charging
CapEV’s work with Onni properties demonstrates the diversity and scalability of their solutions. For example, at two of the company’s newer developments in Los Angeles, a city bylaw mandated the installation of a certain percentage of EV chargers from day one. CapEV met this challenge seamlessly, and the mix of dedicated deeded chargers for residents and public transient-access chargers has enjoyed strong utilization.
The installation at Onni East Village highlights the importance of getting charging right. According to Property Manager Joey Benadiba, the chargers were immediately popular and have already impacted the property’s ability to attract and retain residents. “We’ve got people who choose to live at our East Village location because we have onsite charging,” he said. “For EV drivers, it’s just so much better of an experience than public charging that some of them won’t live anywhere that doesn’t offer charging at the building.”
He notes, too, that this is a notable trend even while EV drivers make up a relatively small proportion of the driving population. “A few years down the line, when EVs are pretty much the only thing people are buying, having onsite charging isn’t just going to be nice to have—it’s going to be essential. I think the investments Onni is making in getting chargers installed are incredibly smart moves for the future of the business.”
The role of SWTCH in the Onni East Village charging installation and across CapEV’s charging portfolio
Behind every successful charging installation is a selection of both hardware and software, and CapEV partnered with SWTCH for a turnkey solution offering the best of both.
“We tend to always gravitate towards SWTCH just because of the cost-effectiveness and the overall uptime and reliability of the chargers,” said Paul Yioldassis. He added, “SWTCH meets all the requirements for what we want from an EV charging platform: load sharing, smart chargers, load demand on the building side as well with SWTCH Control. It has everything we need today and everything we foresee needing in the future.”
For the drivers, the experience is extremely simple to use. With a choice of authenticating via a smartphone app or an RFID card, drivers can simply plug into their charger and begin their session whenever they need. Stations boast better than 98.4% uptime, meaning charging should be available virtually always, and support is on call 24/7 should any issues arise.
And for CapEV and the wider Onni team, it’s easy to monitor charging activity and history both at individual locations and across the total portfolio whenever needed. For reporting purposes, analysis, and to check in on ESG metrics like the amount of CO2 offset by drivers charging at CapEV’s chargers, the SWTCH OSTM web portal offers insights updated in real-time. It also offers users the ability to modify properties of the chargers like pricing structures, loitering and enable or disable access as needed.
Onni, CapEV, and SWTCH: Growing a multifamily and commercial charging network
With Onni Group’s significant expansion plans, Yioldassis expects CapEV to scale rapidly through continued internal installations. The team also envisions robust growth by servicing third-party properties, especially in cities where they’ve already gained a foothold with Onni projects.
Whether it’s powering up a new residential development, retrofitting an existing complex, or equipping a commercial site, the team at CapEV, armed with the hardware and software offered by SWTCH, will be able to deploy powerful, intelligent, yet easy-to-use EV charging installations across any number of properties. As the EV driver base continues to grow and demand for onsite charging grows with it, the moves taken today to build up this offering will pay enormous dividends, and grant Onni and CapEV a competitive position in the years ahead.
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