If thoughts of a landscape renovation for your commercial property aren’t swirling through your head, they should be.
Renovation is the latest buzzword as more and more aging properties in the Triangle Area are spruced up, updated with contemporary landscaping features that add instant appeal.
Fun community grilling areas. Hammocks and pretty hardscape patios for chill time. Intriguing new plants that add a modern vibe.
So, when is the best time to do a landscape renovation on your commercial property?
Greg Smith, director of business development at Greenscape, Inc., has the answers.
Renovate To Compete In Your Market
“If a new office building or apartment is coming on the market that has a lot of amenities, you need to dress your place up,” Smith says.
“In newer apartment communities, the amenities are very high,” he says. “Barbecue stations, fire pits, seating areas, picnic areas, bocce ball courts. In older apartments, they’re non-existent.”
Tenants now expect these perks, Smith says.
If your building is 15 or 20 years old, chances are you don’t have the amenities you need to compete, he says.
That means you’re wasting a great opportunity to use your landscaping as a marketing tool to attract discriminating tenants, customers and visitors.
It also means you’re at a real disadvantage. Older, dated properties can't compete with the splashy landscape amenities of new properties.
Dress it up — or lose out.
Renovate To Revive Dated Landscaping
The average landscaping lasts about 15 years, Smith says. (We can hear you counting.)
“When the landscaping is growing up over your windows and encroaching on your walkways and doors, you need to renovate,” Smith says. “It all goes back to curb appeal.”
Decades ago, mass plantings were popular in commercial landscaping. But that look is tired now, he says.
If your commercial property landscaping features hawthorn, cleyera or juniper, you automatically need a renovation.
“Those are all plants from the 70s,” Smith says. “Chances are they’re not just old, but infected with insects and growing over your windows.”
What to add instead?
Single, striking specimen plants add a modern vibe, he says, like columnar trees and shrubs.
River rock is replacing hardwood mulch and pine needles for a modern edge.
Xeriscaping and sustainability are in, as we look for ways to reduce water usage and help the environment.
One-time bloomers are out. Think shrubs that bloom multiple times a season, like the popular “Encore azalea” that re-blooms in late summer and fall.
“You get more bang for your dollars,” Smith says.
Renovate For Impact
Renovate your landscaping in key areas for the biggest impact, Smith says.
Your entrance as seen from the road. The walkways to entrances. Areas between parking lot and your building.
“Think about where your tenants spend time,” Smith says. “Add picnic areas or a patio there.”
Do you have high turnover? Are tenants coming to you, but not staying?
Adding amenities and freshening up the landscape can be the difference that keeps them, he says.
“Just adding great flower pots to your entrances excites people,” he says. But there’s so much more.
Greenscape recently did a landscape renovation that features hammocks, a hardscape patio, a pergola, two outdoor cooking stations and a fire pit.
It’s enough to make you rush home.
Renovate To Retain Workers
“If you want to keep your employees happy, you need to update,” Smith says. “Why would employees want to stay at a dreary, dull, boring office building? But if it’s bright, lively and updated, they’ll want to stay. Everybody likes to be proud of the place they go to work every day.
“You have to create a landscape to match your brand,” he says. “When you update your landscaping, you set your brand higher.”
Look For A Design and Build Combo
“When you’re doing a landscape renovation, it’s important to have a design team working with your build team,” Smith says. Not all commercial landscaping companies have this duo on site.
Greenscape Inc. does.
“Then, if you need to change something, tweak the design, you don’t have to stop the whole progression of the job for the architects to come in,” he says. “The designers are right there, part of the team. We design it, we build it. If there’s a need for tweaks, we’re there to do it.”
Renovate And Invigorate With Greenscape Inc.
Don’t know which landscape renovation features will make the biggest impact on your commercial property?
We do.
Our Green Team designers have lots of ideas, from creating the perfect workplace patio to designing tropical-inspired pots of exotic blooms.
We’re a design and build company, so we’re with you from the glimmer of an idea right through to expert, professional installation.
Once your updates are complete, we stick with you, providing expert landscape maintenance to keep your investment in wow-inspiring shape.
We’ve been meeting the full-service landscaping needs of commercial customers in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary areas for more than 35 years.
We offer landscape management and lawn care, design and build services, irrigation, landscape lighting and more.
Call us at 919-552-7742 or fill out our online form to request a free consultation and learn how we can transform your landscape.
Don’t let your dated landscaping get any older.
We can't wait to hear from you.
