Landscaping is Changing the Conversation Around Green Real Estate. Top 10 things property people need to know.

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January is Quality of Life month and with sustainability playing an increasingly more important role in how commercial real estate companies invest in green performance, the benefits of landscaping has emerged as an actionable priority.

From site design and infrastructure to LEED considerations to amenities and workplace wellness, new research suggests that nature will have the largest and most easily quantifiable impact on quality of life.

Here’s how:

  1. Health & wellness

The Covid pandemic flipped perceptions of workplace norms, leading to a rethink of the role air quality, natural light and quality outdoor space influences health and well-being. This has led to reconfiguring landscaped areas for outdoor conferencing and working, creating walking trails and bike paths for fitness, building out green roofs and terraces for encourage social interaction, and increasing the number of trees.

  1. Sustainability

As a philosophy and a practice, sustainability has influenced the built environment for years. But with concerns around extreme weather events, climate action planning and the need for increased environmental resilience, landscaping has become an essential key performance indicator for driving occupancy, higher rents, higher tenant retention and higher property value – all while reducing energy use, waste, and environmental impacts.

Getting up to speed. What’s next?

Nature, by way of landscaping and its ability to refresh and revitalize, is an unparalleled remedy to urban stress. When implemented in a way that also protects environmental health, the benefits to human health increase exponentially.  Ten things ELM can help you do now:

  1. Implement a water conservation and irrigation management plan, combined with low-water use landscape strategies and comprehensive guidelines for erosion control and storm water management.
  2. Reduce landfill waste through recycling and composting.
  3. Increase biodiversity, habitat health and plant life through best practices.
  4. Reduce chemical use.
  5. Improve soil health through mulching and microorganisms.
  6. Improve plant and pest management with biological controls, and beneficial insects.
  7. Create a long-range strategic landscape plan that includes ongoing landscape performance improvements.
  8. Transform underutilized areas into perennial meadows.
  9. Use advanced technologies for energy-efficiency and improved resource management.
  10. Create and maintain healthy and high-performing outdoor amenity spaces for people to spend more time in nature.

To learn more about how Eastern Land Management can improve quality of life through landscaping, contact company president Bruce Moore Jr. at (203) 316-5433.

Photo: Stamford Towers, Stamford Connecticut. A commercial landscape sustainably maintained by ELM for CBRE.

 

Martin Minogue Joins ELM as Area Manager

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Eastern Land Management is pleased to welcome Martin Minogue as Area Manager.  He will be based in Stamford, Connecticut, and will lead the landscape service needs of ELM’s commercial real estate clients throughout Fairfield County.

Martin is a veteran landscape professional with a reputation for property quality and commitment to turf and plant health care industries. When he isn’t advocating for improvements in green performance, he’s working to advance ELM’s mission to drive excellence in sustainability.

Born and raised in Darien, CT, Martin grew up in the green industry. He began his impressive career at his father’s side when he was 8 years old and “never looked back”. From those early years mowing lawns to academic courses at UConn, and eventually running his own landscape company, Martin’s knowledge and technical skill, and commitment to detail, is an advantage for property owners and managers keen on increasing profitability while meeting environmental and energy-efficiency goals.

“Taking a property from what it is to where it can be is my passion. Keeping up with industry trends, working to find cost effective and productive methods to create smarter approaches and manage risk—I can’t even think of anything else I’d like to do,” he says.

“ELM serves the heart of the greater NY Metro commercial real estate market, and having Martin on our team accelerates our ability to be flexible and adapt, and take the long view,” said company president, Bruce Moore, Jr. “How and why people use different types of properties are key issues playing out across our region. How we respond and position our firm to look beyond cyclical headwinds is turning out to be our competitive advantage.”

Martin holds a CT DEEP Supervisor license, and Turf & Nursery Management degrees from Ratcliff Hicks School of Agriculture and the University of Connecticut.

To learn more about ELM’s expertise and CRE service areas, contact Bruce Moore Jr at: (203) 316-5433

How to Leverage the Benefits of Scale and Gain Market Share Through Landscaping

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What property and facility owners and managers need to know.

It’s no secret that maintaining a healthy commercial landscape is a big job. And although it may seem that all commercial landscape contractors do the same thing, thanks to smart technologies and automation, there is a stark difference in the way commercial landscape and grounds services are delivered and the value landscaping brings to the bottom line.

The most obvious difference is impact landscaping has on property value. Landscapes need to look good all year-round; they need to be safe for people and the environment, reduce risk and liability, and deliver higher returns all while making a lasting impression.

This is where ELM comes in to help property and facility owners and managers capitalize on the benefits of scale.

ELM is a single-source provider. This means that all landscape and grounds services are integrated and strategically delivered across all seasons, including snow and ice. A single-source provider not only simplifies the process of managing your landscape and reducing the number of companies you need to contact, it’s the best way to reap consistent cost savings through economies of scale.

If you’re looking to contract with a professional commercial landscape services firm, here are five questions to ask:

  1. How long have they been in business?
  2. What is their client retention rate?
  3. Do they offer year-round maintenance, including snow and ice services?
  4. What value-added benefits are included? Do they use low-noise equipment, electric or autonomous equipment, clean energy and options that help earn LEED credits?
  5. Will they make your landscape as technologically smart and as digitally-advanced as your building?

Here’s what you can expect from ELM in the day-to-day:

  1. Meticulous about clean and complete. No task left undone.
  2. No drama.
  3. Proactive about little things before they become big things.
  4. Make suggestions that make you look good.
  5. Willing to go above and beyond.
  6. Prepared, trained, and experienced emergency response.
  7. Highly responsive and easy to reach.

ELM commercial landscape maintenance services include expertise in the following:

  • Commercial property and facility landscape and grounds services
  • Landscape maintenance and horticultural services
  • Enhancements and renovations
  • Irrigation and water management
  • Hardscape projects, corporate terraces, plazas and patios
  • Parking lot and median maintenance
  • Snow and ice control, and winter management
  • Site safety
  • Spring plantings
  • Fall clean-up

If you’re a commercial property and facility manager seeking quality, excellence and cost-efficient contracting services for your landscape and grounds, working toward LEED accreditation and greater sustainability, ELM is your partner of choice.

ELM is a proud member of BOMA Southern Connecticut and BOMA Westchester County, and actively supports the greater multi-sector commercial real estate community in Connecticut and New York.

Meet ELM’s Silent Weapon in Climate-Positive Noise Reduction

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Silence is fueling a new era in operations at Eastern Land Management.

With the introduction of Gravely Pro-Turn® EV mowers, ELM will be rolling out electric mowers and battery-powered equipment to accelerate a long-term goal towards greater efficiency.

For JLL, a global leader in commercial real estate and property services, ELM will have 10-acres of turf on one of its properties in Westport, CT maintained by 50% electric by October 1, 2022.

ELM’s launch of EV is a continued expansion of a autonomous mower program that ELM began in trial phase several years ago, but has grown in impact and importance as ELM clients seek more clean energy options

Having more choices in electric, battery and alternative eco-power offer several advantages: they’re markedly more quiet and lighter in weight, and odor free. “We’re proud to align with leaders like JLL, not only to shape their ESG and sustainability strategy but to develop an action plan that helps us deliver on their green energy objectives,” said company president, Bruce Moore, Jr.

To learn more about how innovation can down the noise on your property, contact Bruce Moore Jr. at 203-316-5433.

 

Wildflowers Are Transforming Former Corporate Plazas.

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Corporate America has jumped on the perennial bandwagon, says Josh Thermer, area manager for Eastern Land Management. A former golf course superintendent from Lake Preston, CT, who joined ELM in September 2021, he now leads ELM’s turf-to-meadow conversion program, in addition to overseeing procurement for all plant material and turf and ornamental products out of ELM’s Monroe office.

To Josh, there is no irony in promoting meadows during April’s Lawn Care month, as lawns and turf grass, like all plant material, are in a constant state of renewal.

“Landscapes are naturally transformative,” says Josh. “From converting worn-out concrete plazas to an expanse of wildflowers to replacing underperforming turf with native grasses to swapping out thirsty plants for drought tolerant perennials, it’s all about doing what’s best for the aesthetics of the site, the needs of the client, and the health and performance of the environment overall.”

Perennials are a trend worth keeping, especially given the challenges Connecticut has faced with drought. Meadows, prairie-plantings, naturalistic landscapes, and eco-lawns are all versions of an ecological revolution that improves soil health and groundwater, and reduces the need for toxic chemicals. When the soil is healthy, it sequesters carbon, which, in turn, is climate-positive—a win-win for companies seeking to improve their sustainability, ESG and LEED metrics.

“Improving the way we conserve water, and the way we improve the way people experience the outdoors is what we do. But we’re also improving the quality of corporate life and view meadows as a tenant amenity. Sitting in a gazebo and watching pollinators and birds is more relaxing than sitting on a bench and looking at a lawn devoid of wildlife because nothing’s blooming,” Josh adds.

Currently Josh is on point for several major corporate projects and landscape transformations deferred by Covid. An expert in sports and performance turf, he says he looks forward to working with college and university athletic directors looking to up their game.

For questions on lawn care turf conversions, meadows or athletic fields, contact Josh at 203-316-5433.

 

 

 

Celebrating 45 Years of Trust & Growth

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“Every decade has its detours,” says ELM founder and landscape industry legend, Bruce Moore Sr. “From good times to lean times, we learned to adapt. The pandemic, and a fire we had a few years ago that wiped out our archives, was nearly just another day at the office,” he added with the wisdom born of time and persistence, and a willingness to work very hard at what he loved.

ELM recently celebrated its 45th year in business and Bruce Sr. says, “agility is our middle name.”  Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Bruce Sr. had a broad focus starting out and discovered his survival kit along the way.

“Adaptability became our strong suit,” he said, “as the only thing that was constant in those days was change. We were good at keeping customers and building relationships, and it was the relationships that kept us in business.”

Fast forward to 2021, and it’s clear that relationships continue to drive the company’s collective success. Not only does ELM still have some of its original – going on four-decade relationships, but the company’s service quality and consistency keeps its customer retention at nearly 95%.  Which, given quarantines and confinements, and a chronology of unprecedented events that unfolded in real time, is a remarkable lesson for business leaders.

Today, ELM is proud to have had the foresight to invest in developing a high performing team.  “Even in the midst of turbulence, we’ve always had an ‘all for one, one for all’ spirit,” says Bruce Sr. “We were lucky then – and we’re lucky now – that we built a company of trust and ideas, so when push came to shove, we could improvise quickly and push through together.”

The result is impressive. ELM reaches across Connecticut with a multi-branch operation and an engaging workforce where team members trust the people they work with and are willing to collaborate on the next big thing.

As it turns out, team spirit is critical to the firm’s ability to pivot.  “I credit Bruce Jr. for embracing uncertainty and inspiring ELM to adapt to new normal realities,” says the proud father of the firm’s next generation leader who is ushering in new, innovative ideas, green technologies, and concepts for growth.

ELM mandates contingency planning as part of its operational strategy and the ability to switch gears is built into its culture.

“Working in the New England snow belt, we’re already aligned with the fluctuations of nature. We expect the weather to change. We plan for plant life cycles and seasons and weather events, and are always assessing risk and economies of scale. If you know anything about nature, even with technology forecasting, she can be imprecise. So, we have to be on our toes and proactive. Just like getting out in front of change in business, nature demands a fast and super-flexible response. Our training to do that well has become our value-add,” said Bruce Jr.

For more than four decades, ELM has kept the company going with its integrity and an ‘all hands on deck’ spirit at the helm.  With the firm’s half-century mark on the horizon, ELM continues to think beyond what’s possible.

“Creating a new future for what we do, without compromising what made us who we are, is our new leadership imperative.”

Over the next few months, ELM will be rolling out its legacy for the future. “With the health crisis more or less behind us, and enthusiasm for revitalized landscapes in all its forms – parks, open spaces, habitats, green roofs, and amenity zones – benefitting from a pent-up demand for being outside, we don’t want to lose sight of what made us great. Because what brought us here, will take us forward,” said Bruce Jr.

What inspired ELM back in the day – the solid relationships, the decision-making that helped the company think through challenge, and the firm’s strong commitment to people and community – that, and the high value support from all levels of its team, that’s the advantage ELM says they will always bring to the table.

Eastern Land Management was founded in Connecticut in 1976 by Bruce T. Moore Sr. Under the leadership of its president Bruce T. Moore Jr., ELM is one of the northeast region’s leading provider of commercial landscape, water management and snow services.

Bruce Moore Jr. is an active member of the National Association of Landscape Professionals, the Snow and Ice Management Association, Southern Connecticut BOMA, Bridgeport Economic Development Council, a member of the board of directors for the Fairfield County House, and a former long-time member of the board of the Stamford Boys & Girls Club. As a team and company, ELM is a committed corporate citizen and community partner, and shares time and resources to support organizations and people in need.

For its efforts in advanced water management and resource conservation, ELM was honored in 2019 with the Fairfield County ChangeMaker Award for Sustainability.

To learn more, go to: www.easternland.com or contact ELM President, Bruce Moore Jr., at (203) 316-5433.