No commercial property manager wants to invest money in a professionally designed and maintained landscape and realize later that they made poor choices.
For instance, maybe they forgot a key element on their site that would have maximized curb appeal and retained tenants or boosted property value. Or maybe they didn’t choose a landscape professional who helped them keep their property neat and tidy during weekly maintenance … and employees, tenants, and visitors noticed and complained to the owner about the unkempt property.
While budgets may be tight, there are still some areas that a commercial property manager should never ignore when it comes to wisely spending their landscape dollars. After all, nothing will make potential tenants, visitors or buyers run faster than a site that looks like it needs repairs, has overgrown and scraggly trees and shrubs, or has safety issues.
To avoid negative reviews and complaints or diminished value to your commercial property, keep these five essential landscape elements high on your priority list.
Safety first
If one person gets hurt on your commercial property, it could increase liability costs, as well as cause negative press. Pruning back deadwood on trees that could potentially fall during storms is essential.
Not only does safety include keeping trees and shrubs maintained around doors and windows and addressing other safety concerns around the property, but also having a safe work crew with professionals who wear the proper ear and eye protection while maintaining the landscape.
Pruning priorities
During the summer months, healthy trees, shrubs and perennials can quickly become leggy and unkempt without proper maintenance. And while some plants require pruning during the growing season to keep them neat, other plants like roses or flowering shrubs require hard pruning during the colder winter months to ensure even growth the following season.
Other maintenance tasks that can quickly give properties a bad image include not deadheading plants that need it and not weeding flower beds. Your landscape professional should know your plants’ specific needs to ensure they are always looking their best.
Talking trash
Commercial landscape contractors typically visit properties weekly during the growing season. When they are there, a professional crew will usually help pick up litter that collects in landscape areas or around entryways. Since trash that isn’t collected can accumulate and become messy, this little extra service only takes a couple of minutes but can save commercial property managers tons of time so they can focus on other priorities.
Water-wise
During the summer months in Atlanta, having an irrigation system that is working properly is crucial—whether we’re experiencing excess rain and need to make sure the system isn’t running unnecessarily or we’re in a drought and need to conserve every drop.
Color cues
If the building on your commercial property is red, you wouldn’t want to have red flowers; they wouldn’t stand out. The landscape design plan created for your property should be unique to your building style and colors.
Trees, shrubs, and flower beds should enhance the space, lead visitors into the proper areas and showcase key focal points, such as a front door, entryway, social area, or sculpture. Having the right partner to help create and install this landscape design and then continue to maintain and enhance it is crucial in creating a valuable and memorable site.
Wondering if your commercial irrigation systems may need an update? Have our landscape and irrigation professionals inspect your metro Atlanta commercial properties. Call us at (678)298-0550 or use our simple contact form.
