Page 16 - CooperatorNews New Jersey Fall 2021

16 COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY
—FALL 2021
NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM
ATTENTION BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS
Maintenance of any masonry/concrete mid to high rise building is
CRUCIAL
From parking decks, to balconies, to brick pointing, window caulking,
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IMPERATIVE
to keep your investment
DRY
and
STRUCTURALLY SOUND.
Water intrusion can cause:
• Structural damage
• Damage claims from tenants and owners
• Mold issues and lawsuits
• Safety issues, e.g., falling masonry
& Restoration Inc, of Jersey City, NJ, successfully completing over $200,000,000
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Small maintenance issues can become large capital projects. We work with
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ty is to subtly change it into a more vibrant-
looking landscape and create a healthier tenance. He says, “As land itself becomes
environment,” Lupfer says. “It should be a scarce and ever more precious, outdoor
process of transitioning from a tradition-
al landscape to a
more sustainable
one. A healthier
landscape means
that plants don’t
need as much at-
tention, since they
are growing as
they should and
are not afflicted by
disease and don’t
need artificial food
to keep them alive
and flourishing.”
One quick and
easy way to save
green by going
green is to control
irrigation. Lupfer
estimates that wa-
tering plants and grasses only as needed, hardscape and softscape, vegetation, irriga-
rather than using a timer or other automat-
ic schedule, can save 60% to 70% percent create a landscape that is sustainable both
on water bills. These savings can really add now and for years to come.
up over time, and require little to no initial
financial output. “You don’t have to put in
new systems or spend any money up front,” assertion, being green can be easy—and
he advises of this practice. “This is some-
thing everyone can do right now.”
Look Toward the Future
Even a small investment into a prop-
erty’s landscape design or maintenance can can have major implications for the value
have big payoffs for the long-term financial of the property, the health of the earth and
and physical success of the association or its inhabitants, and the community’s bot-
corporation. Concomitantly, what might tom line. Understanding the interrelation-
seem like a costly change or addition now ship among the three greens—plantings,
might have positive repercussions for the money, and sustainability—will help any
future. Investing in permeable pavers, for condo, HOA, or co-op achieve a beauti-
example, requires less land for drainage ful landscape that is pleasing and useful
solutions like retention ponds or drains, to residents, friendly and beneficial to the
notes Lupfer, leaving that land available for planet, and a long-term value proposition
other uses. A thoughtful plan for an un-
derused outdoor space can add value and
desirability for a community and its home-
owners. The benefits are exponential.
Making landscaping decisions that
keep in mind the changes to the environ-
ment brought about by climate change and
other factors is also a smart move. David
Mendelson and Anna Maria Morales of
QG Landscape based in New York tell Co-
operatorNews that in new developments,
builders and designers are planning out-
door space that can remain open further
through the seasons. They are accounting
for not only climate change, but the chang-
es currently taking place as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic. “Outdoor spaces
have always been a sought-after commod-
ity,” says Morales. “Now with COVID, ev-
eryone wants to social distance, and they
want to be outside. … We have to adapt to
the new normal.”
Martin Rosen of the Office of Planning
and Sustainable Communities at the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Pro-
tection reinforces the benefits of a holistic
approach to landscape design and main-
spaces need to be designed to deliver value
in as many ways as
possible; i.e., increas-
ing land values, re-
warding the senses,
promoting environ-
mental quality, and
enhancing
mobil-
ity. Sustainable land-
scapes
incorporate
and balance the hu-
man desire for beau-
tiful and functional
landscapes with the
imperative to preserve
valuable
resources.”
Looking at every as-
pect of a development
site—its topography
and layout, natural
and artificial lighting,
tion, and intended or potential uses—can
It’s Easy Being Green
Contrary to Kermit the Frog’s famous
this goes for multifamily properties, too.
Even small and inexpensive changes to
the way an association or corporation
plans and maintains its outdoor spaces
for today’s challenging times.
n
Darcey Gerstein is Associate Editor and
Staff Writer for CooperatorNews.
market for all types of dwellings—con-
dos, co-ops, and single-family homes—is
very strong across most markets. Listings
don’t remain unsold for very long. The
movement of people from urban envi-
ronments to suburban ones as a response
to COVID-19 has been well document-
ed—and has influenced many suburban
communities to put plans for reuse or
repurposing on hold, since they simply
don’t view those types of projects as nec-
essary to increase or maintain their mar-
ket position.
OUTDOOR...
continued from page 8
“Sustainable
landscapes
incorporate and
balance the human
desire for beautiful
and functional
landscapes with the
imperative to preserve
valuable resources.”
—Scott Piekarsky
THE ‘3 GREENS’...
continued from page 15