We are excited to announce that together with Shapack Partners, a multi-asset class real estate development company, we have introduced an all-new access control feature, with all tenants and employees now being able to smoothly access the 167 Green Street office building in Chicago with an Employee Badge in Apple Wallet. 167 Green Street is the first office building in the United States to offer all tenants building-wide access with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch.

With the rollout of Employee Badge in Apple Wallet, 167 Green’s tenants can seamlessly and securely tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock office doors, turnstiles, elevators, and key card-protected amenity spaces – eliminating the need to open an app or present a traditional plastic access key. Even if a user’s iPhone needs to be charged, they will still be able to access the building for up to five hours with Power Reserve.

“Employee Badge in Apple Wallet represents a milestone for commercial real estate development, allowing secure and convenient access for tenants,” says Josef Šachta, CEO and co-founder of Sharry. “I am very pleased that Sharry, in collaboration with Shapack and HID Global, could work to offer this brand-new access feature to clients.”

“We continuously strive to innovate and improve our tenant experience. We are thrilled to be the first multi-tenant office building in the United States to offer all tenants access through the Employee Badge in Apple Wallet,” says Jeff Shapack, Founder & CEO of Shapack Partners. “167 Green’s hospitality-inspired amenities, design, and technology stack provides tenants with a seamless experience.”

“HID Global is excited to continue bringing new deployments of Employee Badge in Apple Wallet to market, says Matt Bennett, Director of Strategic Alliances at HID Global. “The solution represents an exciting new modality to access secure spaces. Our leadership in this space, coupled with Sharry’s technical acumen and Shapack’s innovation, represents a new era for Commercial Real Estate technology and innovation.”

BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE BADGE IN APPLE WALLET

• ‍Touchless experience.
  After users request a mobile pass in the 167 Green Street building's app (developed by Sharry), they add it to Apple Wallet with a few clicks and use their personal devices to unlock secured areas. There is no need to physically visit your office, which reduces unnecessary physical contact and fully meets the demands of hybrid work.

• Seamless experience.
  Employee Badge in Apple Wallet uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology between the user's device and a properly configured reader from HID Global. There's no need to unlock the device or tap an app or a button. Just hold it up to the HID Seos enabled reader. Even if the iPhone runs out of battery power, the iPhone’s Express Reserve provides up to five additional hours utilizing Express Mode. 

• Secure experience.
  Employee badge in Apple Wallet also takes full advantage of privacy and security features built into iPhone and Apple Watch. Employee Badge is stored on the user’s device, which means data is private and secure. Unlike with plastic cards, users almost immediately notice when they lose their phone. Therefore, using Apple Wallet access lowers any potential security risks.

167 Green continues to raise workplace experience standards – not just in Chicago's Fulton Market District, but globally. The building’s 17th floor Amenity Penthouse includes a 400-person town hall that doubles as a full-sized professional basketball court, an outdoor terrace with a vegetable and flower garden, as well as an indoor garage with EV charging stations and bike parking.

When it comes to workplace experience, Apple Wallet access has been an important part of tenant engagement. At the same time, the upgraded access technology follows ESG trends, eliminates plastic waste, increases building security, and provides building landlords with a valuable and detailed set of data capturing building occupancy and tenant satisfaction.

SMART FEATURES UNDER ONE UMBRELLA

Touchless access is the flagship product feature of the whole smart building ecosystem under Sharry’s umbrella which was delivered at 167 Green in Chicago. Below is a list of its features: 

• Mobile Cards Management.
  Employee Badge in Apple Wallet enables all users to use their personal devices as a virtual key. The building's operating portal also supports plastic cards as a backup solution.

• Visitor Management System.
  The reception software is built on guest passes with QR codes. They can be sent automatically or straight from the building's app. It allows receptionists to focus on world-class concierge delivery during check-in.

• Smart Parking Software.
  The parking software provides an incredibly smooth user experience. The entry is managed by smart cameras with license plate recognition. And if you change your car? Simply update the license plate in the app on the fly.

• Tenant Engagement Mobile App.
  The most comprehensive solution on the market includes 70+ most frequently required features (e.g. request maintenance with a tap, book any shared asset, reserve a parking spot, get notified about all building news, receive special offers from retailers nearby, boost the building's community).

“We are thrilled to deliver our ultimate smart solution to 167 Green Street. It turns this outstanding property into one of the most integrated office buildings in the market. Through the building's mobile app, all occupiers now receive a virtual key not only from their office but also to unlock all premium services provided in the complex,” said Ondřej Langr, Chief Product Officer at Sharry.

Are you ready to become leading-edge and use an Apple Wallet mobile access card on your premises? Contact us and we will be more than happy to help you with providing a seamless workplace experience for your tenants.