Tapping a card to get into the front door of an office might be an everyday occurrence, but using that same physical access control technology to get into an apartment building isn’t quite as common.

Newer residential buildings, however, are looking to enterprise physical access control for tenants. North Bethesda Market in Maryland has deployed a cloud-based access control system from Brivo Systems that uses proximity key fobs to enable access to the front door and common areas within the building.

North Bethesda Market has 400 residential apartments but also boasts 200,000 square feet of retail space including Whole Foods Market, LA Fitness, Arhaus, Brio and Seasons 52. Making sure that only residents can gain access to the apartment floors was a primary concern for property manager JBG Companies, says Jessica Hendrix, general manager at North Bethesda Market.

The development project tapped Brivo OnAir cloud-based physical access control throughout the complex. The solution was installed as construction on the new facility progressed throughout 2010 and 2011. Brivo OnAir gives the facility the flexibility to easily manage the property, Hendrix says.

The development consists of primarily rental properties so there are a lot of residents moving in and out. The system is easy to use, enabling the property managers to turn off access for resident who have moved out of the building. The web site where the property managers add and revoke access is easy to use as well, Hendrix says.

More than 89 physical access control readers are deployed at the site, including all entry points for the apartments, the elevators, the parking garage and at strategic locations in the retail shops and restaurants, says Igor Gravoc, sales manager at ResponseTECH, the systems integrator on the project.

Residents use the key fobs to get in the front door and the parking garage at North Bethesda, Hendrix says. They are also used in the elevator and for access to common areas. Keys are still used to get into specific apartments.

The Brivo system keeps an audit trail of when residents use the system, enabling property mangers to know who accesses different common areas at different times in case a problem is reported.

Newer rental properties are looking at different card technologies to enable access to buildings, says Gravoc. With the amount of turnover and traffic in some of these larger buildings, issuing cards or key fobs is easier and cheaper than metal keys. Also, if a resident doesn’t turn in the keys after moving out, only one door has to be rekeyed and not multiple ones.

Advantages of cloud-based physical access control for multi-use dwellings:

• Ease of use makes administrator training simple
• 24/7 system access from any location
• Configure cards for exactly the level and location of access needed
• No need to manage servers or software
• Scalable for one additional access point or one thousand
• Audit trail and reporting functions provide detailed logs
• Control access to common spaces