Eastchester Living by Sage Equities
Eastchester Living is the umbrella brand for the properties developed by Sage Equities and the community that is built up around them. As of 2023, there are two completed developments, one under construction and several more on the way!
We’ve worked with Austin and Anna Smith from Sage Equities since 2017, when they brought Shannon on to build out their brand and marketing approach for their inagural property: 17th Place Townhomes.
Eastchester Living Brand Scope:— Strategy
— Messaging + Development Naming
— Visual Identity
— Social Media Management
— Website Design
— Investment Packet Design
— Brand Guidelines
About Sage Equities
Sage Equities is a commercial real estate firm that creates investment opportunities through innovative developments in Downtown Bakersfield. They have had a hand in building up the neighborhood East of Chester Avenue, and have supported the build-out of a walkable, modern neighborhood in our city.
Bakersfield has a reputation for being a sprawling suburban city, and this team (along with many others) are working to create a new narrative around what the future of our city can be. By focusing on revamping and building up our urban core, the Sage team is working to transform the area and pioneer new opportunities here by focusing on community-first developments.
Eastchester Living and the Family of Developments
Eastchester Living is a brand that not only connects all of the Sage Equities properties in Downtown Bakersfield, but also the neighborhood as a whole. Our goal has always been to create a holistic view of the area for the residents of these developments, while connecting them to the local businesses nearby. This has created an opportunity for conversations around what it means to build a sustainable, liveable, walkable community in our city.
We started by building out a strong brand for their first development, 17th Place Townhomes, in 2017 – managing their brand and digital presence from the get go. Transitioning from one development to an umbrella brand that could house all of the current and future developments was a fun challenge for our team that involved an in-depth social strategy and a consistent Eastchester brand that would blend all of these brands together seamlessly.
We identified the key things that people are looking for as they move downtown – things like services, activities, and places to eat along with bigger picture concepts like urban walkability and sustainability – and built out messaging and visuals that would address any questions people had around these. We also identified the key advantages we already have, such as community events and existing businesses, and actively work towards crafting a narrative that touts the wonderful opportunities for connection that already exist here in Bakersfield.
Strategy + Messsaging
Our approach with this messaging is to be thoughtful, positive, and excited about what’s going on in this neighborhood. We want our audience to know that there are people here that care for our city and the people here, and attract people that also want to experience urban life at its finest in Eastchester.
One of the biggest challenges we faced in this project was coming out of the pandemic with a new development launching, while maintaining the sense of community throughout. This is where our wonderful clients, Austin and Anna Smith came in. They, along with their incredible team, kept residents connected with outdoor, socially distanced events and lots of opportunities to still participate in the neighborhood. We worked with them to keep our shared vision for our community alive during this time so we could come out on the other side with a fresh perspective.
Seeing people still gather in our neck of the woods through such a challenging time, and then emerge from it with so much love still intact for our city was a huge boost - and showed that we truly are building something worthwhile in the heart of our city with this brand.
Website Design
Our goal for the website design was to create a digital user experience that feels exciting, informational and uncomplicated for curious potential residents. One of the major factors we considered in the design process was that the majority of their target market are non-locals. This led us to create immersive landing pages directed at helping future residents get a realistic understanding of what life can be in Bakersfield’s East of Chester downtown metropolitan area – featuring interactive maps and highlighting local favorite eateries and workplaces. Because each development has a unique brand identity, we wanted their development landing page to be able to express that.
Illustrations
The style and quirky nature of the illustrations aim to help reflect the inviting “come as you are” feeling of East of Chester Avenue downtown Bakersfield. We wanted the drawings to show even the smallest of downtown living moments – a coffee break with a friend or riding a bike through the city.
To capture the feeling of these moments, we worked with local artist Liz Sherwyn to create custom illustrations to weave into the Eastchester Living brand. From there, we built out more icons of the city landmarks to capture the growing and changing city that surrounds the properties. These are beautiful, organic, hand-drawn works that help show what it feels like to truly experience Downtown Bakersfield, made all the more precious because they were created by a local artist who loves this city like we do.
Social Media Management
With any social media strategy, it’s important to always stay up to date on the latest trends and growth opportunities. That’s why we’re constantly tweaking their social strategy, and that’s also why having a strong brand from the start is so important. We can change our tactics without losing the brand equity we’ve already built by keeping their brand at the center of everything we do.
Currently, we’re moving to a video-first approach for them. This strategy allows us to capture the liveliness of the neighborhood and residents, while also tying into the demands of the algorithms we serve. Since moving to this approach, we’ve seen a significant increase in engagement, growth, and impressions, which has been important as we focus on driving interest in The Cue and more upcoming properties.
17th Place Townhomes - Visual Identity
As the first development, 17th Place really set the tone for the rest of the Eastchester brand. Over the past five years, we've brought the brand to life through social media, events, and more, and we're proud to see how iconic it has become today. It's a modern classic and a beacon in our city.
Photography by Ally Swen + Creatiful
The Cue at Eastchester - Visual Identity
With a hip boutique vibe, The Cue is a 49-unit luxury apartment in the heart of Downtown Bakersfield. They're taking a cue from the past, reimagining it for the future, and improving our downtown and our entire city in the process. For this project, we developed a clean, modern look that's inspired by historic Bakersfield, with a nod to the past and a hip eye for the future. Midcentury meets modern city.
Photography by Ally Swen, Jeran McConnel + Creatiful
918 at Eastchester - Visual Identity
This property is currently under construction nestled in what was formerly Bakersfield's Printer's Row on 20th + P. The name and logo design comes from the art of hand-set typography — referencing the minimum height of letters on a printing press at .918 inches. Pulling from the industrial-cool vibe of the area and the building plans, we developed this brand to reflect the heritage of the neighborhood.
Cléo on Eighteenth - Visual Identity
The Cléo property is slightly more feminine due to the softer color palette and delicate type choice, yet with a distinctly modern vibe. We wanted to create a desirable brand for young professionals coming to live in the heart of our city who desire an urban live/work dynamic. Inspired by Kleio, the muse of history in Greek mythology, this latest development is surrounded by brick storefronts, each with its own set of fascinating histories. Construction of Cléo is slated for 2024-2025.
