Getting Your Shopping Center Ready for Spring and Summer

Though we are well into the spring, nearing summer, the coronavirus crisis has probably delayed getting your center up to snuff for the season.  We at Gettier Commercial are here to help.  We like to prioritize services along three lines of effort.  They are Safety/Liability, Cleaning and Curb Appeal, and then Repairs.  With each season there comes different concerns and issues.

Pre-Summer Preparations: Safety, Curb Appeal, and Critical Maintenance.

Safety First

First and foremost, make sure that you, your tenants, and their customers are safe from communicable diseases by following the CDC’s guidelines to keeping you and others safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (COVID-19 Recovery Options).   

Let’s talk overall safety.  The winter can cause damage no matter how mild it is.  Freezing temperatures can cause expansion and cracking in our parking lots, expanding potholes and enlarging fissures in asphalt drive lanes and parking areas.  Damaged cars bring lawsuits, and no one wants to negotiate an obstacle course to get to a store.  Concrete is also affected.  This is the time of year we see curb damage and cracks in sidewalks causing potential tripping hazards.  Sometimes it’s an easy skim patching repair, but maybe before the crowds return it’s time to replace that entire section of sidewalk.

Depending on the ice or snow from the winter, there may be ice melt, salt, and/or sand throughout the parking lots that will need to be power swept.  And whether it’s from snowplows or bad drivers, now is the time to get all those wheel stops realigned, re-pinned, or replaced.

Lastly in the safety arena, it’s the time of year to inspect all of your lighting – tenant signs, light poles, and wall packs.

Time to Tune Up the Curb Appeal

Now let’s talk about making the center look good and encourage visitors.  Pressure washing sidewalks, trash enclosures, and grease traps reduces vermin and stench, but really makes the entire center look clean.  This is also the time of year to start painting.  After all, we are looking for curb appeal.  Repainting curbs and re-striping the parking lot improves aesthetics and enhances your safety program.  Like concrete above, now might also be the best time to get those larger paint jobs done.  Before the wave of customers return we need to straighten and repair all those leaning, faded, or otherwise damaged signs throughout the center.

Unfortunately, there are probably more vacant spaces this year, but we need to make them shine.  To get the attention of potential tenants, those spaces need to be cleared out, thoroughly cleaned, and probably painted.  Debris from the winter and fall has probably accumulated in sprinkler and electrical rooms; now is the time to clear all that stuff out.  Leaves and pine needles should be removed from roofs.  This is also the time of year to clean those bird nests out of store front signage. 

Seasonal Repairs and Maintenance

Let’s move on to general repairs.  Before they become an issue for your trash collect and tenants, trash enclosure doors should be checked out and repaired or replaced to make sure they are functional and working properly.  Nothing perhaps, makes a center look more run down than a damaged fence.  It’s an eye sore and encourages trespassers and vagrants.  Undoubtably, a delivery truck or wayward visitor has hit and damaged one of your bollards.  Probably time to get that fixed too.

Getting Started

This is probably not your first time getting you center ready for spring and summer.  Gettier Commercial wants to be your partner this season.  There is a lot of anxiety and stress, both mental and fiscal, this year.  Let us help alleviate some of the concerns and position your center for a successful “relaunch” and summer season. (Contact Us)