Are you tired of looking at your tired, dull property while all of your competitors’ sites only seem to be getting better?
Or even worse, is that how your tenants and visitors feel about your site?
The Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland real estate markets are competitive, from office parks and shopping centers to apartments and HOAs. To stay at the top, commercial properties are constantly being renovated and updated. One way to do that is by repositioning your property.
Benefits To Repositioning Your Site
You need your property to stand out from the others, and repositioning it can create several lasting benefits:
- Adds to property’s value
- Chance to increase lease rates
- Attracts more tenants and visitors (and improves their experience)
- Easier to manage and maintain
Anything you can do to add value for your tenants is going to lead to higher occupancy rates — which will make the owner happy, as well.
7 Repositioning Strategies For Commercial Real Estate
Add More Windows
Opening up walls and installing windows in your buildings will create a more open, inviting feel.
Plus, that open look is going to take your property into the 21st Century with a more modern look.
You can also change out any metal or wooden doors for glass ones to bring in even more light. Everyone wants an open floor plan with homes, and that same mentality is true for your buildings.
Get Out Of The 80s
Large, overgrown shrubs that are pruned into giant cubes will make your building look like it’s stuck in the 80s. Unless you want your property to remind people of leg warmers and big hair, it’s time for an update.
You can work with a landscape design team to create modern plant beds that feature a variety of textures, colors and layers. They can suggest plants that work with your space and overall look of the property.
The landscape is one of the first (and last) things people are going to see on your property, so make sure it adds aesthetic value.
Install Native Plants
The plants you choose are going to make a huge difference when repositioning your property.
Modern landscapes typically incorporate native plants and a lot of grasses. These grasses can bring a property to life because they are dynamic and move in the wind.
Meadow plantings have also been gaining popularity. In addition to creating a stunning design that changes throughout the year, these plantings also help solve problems like stormwater runoff.
Incorporating native plants will also make your landscape more sustainable and save you money on your utility bills.
Repaint Your Parking Lot
You don’t have to resurface your parking lot to give it a facelift.
Simply restriping lines can make your parking lots and facility look like new. That can include parking spots, lines along walkways or the centerline.
Plus, it will keep drivers safer as they maneuver your site.
Create A New Outdoor Feature
Make your commercial property pop with a new feature, like a fountain, patio, seating areas, green wall or planters.
You can go as big or small as you want with the feature: The point is just to do something that welcomes visitors and takes your site to the next level.
Water features will add a level of tranquility to your landscape and help drown out nearby traffic. Adding a patio and seating area can really help reposition your property, especially an office, and increase employee morale.
If you want to take a more natural approach, you can install a green wall as a barrier or focal point. These have been popping up more around the country, both inside and out.
Planters near entrances are another good way to liven up the space and attract people. Just make sure they are replaced if they get worn out or damaged.
Update Your Signage
Besides being visible and not blocked by overgrown shrubs and trees, your signage should be a good representative of your property.
For example, an old, discolored sign in front of a retail property will make people think the stores are also outdated. And that’s definitely not what tenants want potential customers to think.
It may be as easy as cleaning and repainting your signage. Or, if it’s been there a while, you may want to have someone redesign the entire signage to better match the feel you’re going for with the property.
For a more modern look, use straight, sharp lines, or go with flowing lines for a more formal appearance.
Make Your Property Pedestrian Friendly
If you want people visiting your property, reposition it so that they actually enjoy being there.
Adding walkways throughout the property will improve their overall experience, while also allowing you to control the site traffic. It takes some planning to know where to install walkways, so watch where people are currently walking: You want the paths to be as natural for them as possible.
Also, make sure these paths are clear of plant growth or other obstacles. You don’t want to have liability issues.
Shade is another coveted feature tenants and visitors will appreciate. You can use trees or shade structures like pergolas to keep people cool (and on your property).
Pitfalls to Avoid When Repositioning Site
You can up the value of your property — and your lease rates — by repositioning it. But to be successful, there are things you should (and shouldn’t) do.
Here are four things you should avoid when repositioning your commercial property:
- Not understanding the costs involved
- Making changes that won’t bring a ROI
- Forgetting what your tenants and visitors actually want from a site
- Worrying about cosmetic issues when there are bigger infrastructure problems
Knowing what you want to achieve and exactly how much that is going to cost is a must before you begin repositioning your site. You don’t want to be in the middle of a project and realize you’ve run out of funds and need to cut corners to finish.
And if you’re going to be spending money on improvements, they better have some real ROI to justify them. Simply making changes for the sake of change doesn’t work.
Instead, ensure each update meets a specific need — like creating a more modern look to attract younger customer or giving your landscape texture with native plants that keeps it from looking stagnate.
These upgrades should also be in line with what your tenants and visitors want. Maybe adding a patio and outdoor furniture is more important to them than having more windows. You need to understand their expectations because you want to keep and attract more people to your site.
And while it may be easier and cheaper to focus on cosmetic changes, you need to focus your time and funds on deeper problems first. See if there are structural or functional problems on the property before worrying about more surface-level updates.
Find a Partner Who Can Reposition Your Property
The first step to repositioning your property (besides deciding to do it) is finding the right commercial company to hire.
At Level Green Landscaping, our mission is to make your job easier — at least when it comes to your property’s outdoor space — and bring your landscape to the highest level possible.
We’ll create a plan specific to your landscape and budget, while also offering our expertise on how you can efficiently reach your goals. And once everything is finished, we can keep it maintained to ensure it looks stunning year round.
We help reposition commercial properties such as offices, municipalities, institutions, HOAs and mixed-use site in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland.
Contact us online and at 202-544-0968, or schedule a free consultation to have us come out to your property.
