This popular open-air shopping center is located at the intersection of South Santa Fe Drive and West Mineral Avenue in Littleton, Colorado. The property sits in one of the Denver metro's most frequented suburbs, drawing shoppers from across South Denver. With over 40 retail tenants and restaurants, it is built around the idea of spending quality time vs. running errands. There’s a mix of local boutiques and specialty shops alongside global brands such as Apple and Pottery Barn. Guests arrive for the atmosphere as much as the stores, with mountain views and tranquil walking paths. Numerous seasonal events add to the enjoyment, as do retailers that specifically welcome patrons with dogs. The curb appeal, vibrant seasonal color, and always-tidy landscaping are visible from every corner of the property.
Challenges
It’s tough to nail down which challenge causes the most concern. The weather is a big one with Colorado’s springtime bringing heavy rain, while other years see warm temperatures pop up faster than expected. Trying to work around Mother Nature and busy spring sales events is a combination of hurdles for Denver commercial landscape crews.
Concerns that shouldn’t be underestimated are coordination and logistics. This property makes coordination especially challenging during spring color installations. This installation is as large-scale as it gets. However, it doesn’t stop there because there are irrigation set-ups and checks to be done at the same time. The performance of annuals in these spaces depends on getting plants placed properly, watered in, and ensuring any leaks are caught before summer heat rolls in.
95% of consumers consider a store’s exterior appearance an important factor when deciding where to shop.” ~KBS
The spacing is tight as well, so our teams have to be aware of shopper vehicle traffic and foot traffic. Safety is our main concern. Plus, there’s the need to keep each planting bed area perfectly neat even as soil is being moved, amendments added, and flowers installed. Denver shoppers expect a world-class experience, so it’s vital to keep curb appeal at its best even while major landscaping is happening. Another challenge isn’t so obvious, so we’ll touch on that in the conclusion.
Results
The Yellowstone Landscape branch in Denver has overcome the above challenges for over a decade on this particular property. See how each landscaping hurdle is managed below.
- Yellowstone invests in the newest hyper-local weather forecasting tech to stay ahead of Colorado’s fast-changing conditions.
- Since our branch manager lives in the Denver area, the manager understands the local climate and changing weather patterns of the past few years.
- Coordination issues are partly alleviated by our experienced crew, which has worked together on this property for several years.
- Yellowstone Landscape team members get ongoing training in multiple areas, helping installers understand steps taken by the irrigation team, which smooths the side-by-side process here.
- Our irrigation techs do systematic checks to make sure there are no missed leaks or worn irrigation components that need replacing.
- Native flowers are used where possible to help save water while reducing upkeep.
- Three things bolster safety for everyone, including our staff, on this retail property — Yellowstone Safety Rodeos, weekly safety Tailgate Talks, and familiar teams used to looking out for each other.
- Our company maintains many luxury retail properties, helping us to build systems that avoid intruding on the shopping experience.
- All flower and plant selections are informed by visual impact, water conservation, and vital first-impression areas.
Shopper Reviews
“Gorgeous flowers lining sidewalks with idyllic benches for people watching.”
“The flowers and lights outdoors create such a pleasant ambiance.”
“It’s a pretty area with tons of flowers and trees.”
Crafting Curb Appeal
As you can tell from the rave reviews above, this Denver shopping center is extremely popular with guests. This speaks volumes in the age of online shopping convenience because these shoppers are thrilled to come out and enjoy in-store experiences. The keyword is experience.
Without the upscale curb appeal and relaxing ambiance, many shoppers might not go to the trouble of shopping in person. And while it takes tremendous vision from the property managers and hard-working landscape crews, there’s another piece that plays out behind the scenes. That’s the impressive organization involved with the massive seasonal flower changeovers in particular.
Each flower bed at this Denver shopping venue is color-coordinated down to the finest details. Imagine the difficulty of tracking that amount of plant material (over 7,000 plants). First, it has to be ordered with precision, then delivered to our local branch’s shop. From there, it must be sorted by color before being loaded onto Yellowstone Landscape trucks and trailers in a specific order. Finally, the plants are unloaded into multiple staging areas. Our team’s system of tagging, labeling, and flagging has been developed over the ten-plus years we’ve maintained this property.
If you have a premier commercial property that requires attention to detail and proven systems to get installs and maintenance right the first time, contact Yellowstone for a consultation.
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