Challenge

Edison Properties, based in Newark, New Jersey, is a real estate holding and development firm whose humble beginnings have blossomed into major real estate success. Starting with a well-placed, and ultimately very fruitful, parking lot adjacent to Newark Penn Station, the company has expanded well beyond its parking roots to include brands and properties such as Manhattan Mini Storage, Hippodrome, The Ludlow, Workspace, Ironside Newark – and the original brand: Edison ParkFast.

Edison Properties’ legacy security system was expensive to maintain and challenging to integrate with third-party systems. As a company with myriad brands and properties, Edison Properties required a flexible security system that could meet diverse needs. “We needed a system that was easier to use, more cost-effective and flexible enough to interface with various other systems,” says Ariel Shamai, EVP, Chief Information Technology and Marketing Officer, Edison Properties.

Solution

When Edison Properties began its largest and most recent project – the adaptive reuse of a 1907 warehouse in downtown Newark called Ironside – the company put out a bid for the security contract. Of the various options returned, only one, submitted by Commercial Technology Contractors, Inc. (CTCI), suggested an alternative to Edison Properties’ existing security system. “We pitched a LenelS2 NetBox access control system because we knew it would be less expensive to implement and maintain as well as offer a great user experience,” notes Sean Lawler, Security Field Engineer, CTCI.

Edison Properties decided to make the leap. Conversion to NetBox across the entire enterprise began with the company’s new headquarters, Ironside, as well as the Manhattan Mini Storage and Edison ParkFast brands. At Ironside, Edison Properties utilizes LenelS2 NetBox and NetVR™ systems to provide unified access control and video management. The NetBox system integrates with turnstiles as well as a visitor management system. Visitors can receive temporary credentials in order to gain access to specific turnstiles, restrooms and other readers throughout the building. Numerous cameras provide both interior and exterior video coverage for the building. Any alarms automatically flag video and alert security staff.

Tenants at Ironside are given the choice to manage their own LenelS2 partition via their lease agreement. “The LenelS2 system provides us with an option to scale and partition the system further as tenancy grows and when additional endpoints are necessary,” says Andrew Pack, VP of Facility Systems, Edison Properties, who oversees the LenelS2 projects.

Manhattan Mini Storage, a self-storage company, leverages a custom API to automate the provisioning of tenant credentials to access authorized areas only, while restricting movement throughout the rest of the facility.

Edison ParkFast parking lots have enhanced camera coverage to monitor operations and research incidents. In addition, cameras at every entrance and exit record the state of vehicles as they enter and exit the lot, to assist with loss prevention and validate claims.

Results

Edison Properties is in the process of transitioning its entire portfolio of real estate and brands over to LenelS2. The flexible, open NetBox system API allows Edison Properties to write its own integrations and tailor the system to each individual brand’s needs. The company is also running the system on centralized virtual servers at an off-site data center. Without the demands of a physical installation, Edison Properties saves additional time and money.

“Top to bottom, the cost savings, user experience and ability to implement novel integrations isn’t even in the same ballpark as our old system,” observes Shamai. “We’re excited to see what we can accomplish with the system across the rest of our enterprise.”