A professionally executed landscape design is an integral part of the architectural plan of any mixed-use, market ready, or value-add development across Utah and beyond – and with good reason. When done right, an investment in high-end landscape architecture will pay handsome dividends.
Properly planned site amenity and landscape architectural site design will make your development stand out from others on the block. It’s the first impression potential buyers and tenants get from your property, and can also give you a pretty decent return on investment. That’s right, landscape architectural design promises a return on your investment, but just how much can you expect?
HOW GOOD OF AN INVESTMENT IS CREATIVE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN?
We’ve all heard the real estate mantra of “Location, Location, Location” as the ticket to selling residential or commercial properties. Well, that seems to have changed to “Location, Location, Creative Landscape Architectural Design”.
A first-rate landscape architectural design is a sure ticket to a quick sale, if that is what you have in mind for your mixed-use, market ready, or value-add development. It increases street appeal, a feeling of place, high level appeal, and ultimately, higher property value and occupancy rates. It’s also the first thing potential clients see. That first impression can add 20 percent to the property’s value.
The American Society of Landscape Architects recommends investing a minimum of 10% of your mixed-use development’s value into landscape architecture. The more elements you incorporate into the outdoor environment, the higher the investment percentage will rise above the 10% mark.
Some of the most popular items nowadays include outdoor fire pits, seat and site walls, modern paving materials, patterns, and colors; recreational amenities such as corn hole courts, ping pong tables, shade structures, high tech Wi-Fi hot spots and device plugins, lounge seating, and sculptural water elements to name a few.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ROI AS HIGH AS 150%
Studies nationally agree that investing in high-end landscape architecture for a development’s outdoor amenity spaces is a strong move to make. They suggest that it can deliver a return on investment as high as 150 percent, which increases when savings on energy bills are factored in. When potential buyers or tenants visit a property that features state-of-the-art outdoor amenities, there’s an immediate assumption that the inside of the building will be as spectacular, not to mention, these spaces provide fantastic marketing opportunities for architects, developers, and investors to leverage and maximize capital investments.
We’re learning from our developer clients that the marketing they get from amazing and highly creative and relevant landscape architectural site and amenity design is pivotal to their ability to market and sell out housing projects, lease work place environments, and keep tenants and clients happy.
NOT ALL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS ARE CREATED EQUAL
It goes without saying that not all outdoor improvements will increase the value of a mixed-use or residential development by the amount they cost to construct. The quality of the landscape design, and the promptness in which the landscape architect is brought into the development process, will have a huge impact. Moreover, the difference between great and not so great landscape architectural design shows up as a 10 percent increase in property value.
Perhaps the biggest mistake developers and architects in Utah make is a disjointed approach to landscape architectural design. They begin with the assumption that landscape architecture is just planting and irrigation design that can be implemented only as necessary or as city agencies deem as required bare minimums. When viewed this way, the result is a mass of plantings and gardens that don’t enhance the building’s architecture or relate or add visual or increased property values.
But landscape architecture design should and can be much more than that, and when it is appreciated as much as the architectural design, then that is where the real value can be added by relating architectural interior programming to the exterior spaces in ways that create outdoor places for tenants and employees to use, enjoy, and love. Following a thoughtfully and professionally prepared set of landscape architectural design plans will create a cohesive landscape architectural design that extends indoor spaces outward, makes building architecture better and more relevant to its surroundings, while remaining within a pre-established budget range.
GET SMART ABOUT THE VALUE OF CREATIVE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DESIGN
Remember, whether you’re planning a landscape architecture design project as part of a new build or as an outdoor space makeover (value-add) for an existing property, a qualified landscape architect will help you maximize your pay off in the long run. A landscape architect is trained to create unified plan that addresses both the big picture and the small details of how your outdoor spaces will look and perform. When done properly and professionally, your outdoor amenity areas will not only transform your mixed-use or residential development; they will increase and hold their value for years to come.