The challenge
What we walked into.
The irrigation system was the property's quiet emergency: 22 zones, nine of them dead, controllers from two different decades, and a water bill trending up while the turf died. Tenants had started photographing the frontage and attaching it to lease-renewal emails.
The approach
What we did about it.
Days 1–30: full irrigation audit, head-by-head, with a usage baseline. Days 31–60: rebuild — new smart controllers, rezoned coverage, drip conversion in every bed. Days 61–90: turf renovation on the frontage panels and a detail pass on every curb, pad, and entrance.
The campus then moved onto an annual grounds contract with storm-response coverage and photo-verified visits.
The result
Where it landed.
Water use dropped 34% against the audit baseline in the first full quarter. The property logged zero tenant grounds tickets last quarter — down from a running average of six per month — and the frontage turf held through a Hampton Roads August.
- 34% reduction in irrigation water use
- Zero tenant grounds tickets last quarter
- 22 zones rebuilt on smart control
- 24-hour storm mobilization on contract
“They treated the irrigation system like infrastructure, not sprinklers. The water bill alone justified the contract.”
M. Delacroix — property manager (fictional)