A Facility With Flair
Curb Appeal and Beyond

Curb appeal. You’ve probably heard those two words before. But the concept is evolving beyond paint and trim. Architects, developers, landscape designers, store managers, and others are chiming in with new ideas to present a facility with flair from the outside in. Whether your facility has big plans for a total office renovation or you simply want to attract more attention with a small budget, these ideas should steer you in the right direction.

Some ideas are coming from imaginative design concepts. Others are coming from common sense. Still others are stemming from lessons drawn from other industries. After all, if people can drum up 197 ways to improve the curb appeal of a home, self storage managers should be able to incorporate at least a handful of ways to improve a facility’s flair. Managers need to embrace new concepts for the old topic of curb appeal—and hold on to the old concepts, too!

“Curb appeal tips are discussed over and over again in various articles,” says Maurice Pogoda, principal and president of Pogoda Management Company in Farmington Hills, Mich. “The problem is, most facilities aren’t taking the advice. There is a range of things you can do, from expensive to very simple. Managers just need to decide what they can do— and do it.”

Making The Office A Focal Point
A sure-fire way to grab the attention of passersby, even from the roadway, is to offer an obvious focal point for the office. For example, Bruce Jordan, principal of Jordan Architects, Inc. in San Clemente, Calif., often suggests his clients use some unique tower element atop the building to draw the customer’s attention to that spot. Jordan also tries to integrate signage as high as possible to catch the eyes of would-be tenants. The point is to emphasize the office area and make it architecturally attractive.

Unique roof elements, Jordan adds, can be built in inexpensively while bringing plenty of attention to a facility. Beyond towers, facilities can enhance their curb appeal with colored roofs, bells, or some other design variation that reaches far above the rooftop.

“We use cupolas that look like the Capitol dome in our National Self Storage projects,” Pogoda says. “We use flags a great deal, too. Of course, flags have to be changed on a regular basis. Also, on our monument signs or on our pole signs, we try to change our reader boards every two weeks. These are all ways to get noticed.”

Attention-Getting Devices
Speaking of attention-getting, Jordan Architects has designed some stunning facilities from a flair-and-curb-appeal perspective. A self storage facility in Pomona, for example, boasts an art deco design with neon lights that demand the attention of customers. “It stands out,” Jordan explains. “There are so many bland buildings; and then all of a sudden—a very colorful self storage project with very unique architecture.” The office continues the theme with 1950s memorabilia, including old-fashioned gas pumps.

Another of Jordan’s clients took advantage of a large storefront window to showcase perhaps the most interesting “display rack” in the region: a 57 Chevy Nomad Wagon that was transformed into a merchandising kiosk in the office. “It just floats out of the floor. The tailgates are open and there’s boxes and locks in there,” Jordan explains. “You open the hood and there’s merchandise inside. You can see the display from the curb.”

Pogoda cites a borderline ridiculous attention-getting device on a property his management company recently took on board. The facility features an airplane made out of 55-gallon drums. “It has nothing to do with the name of the property, but it’s sure noticeable,” he explains.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Attention-getting, however, no longer means sticking out like a sore thumb. In fact, one of the biggest current trends is making the office look like part of the neighborhood. If your facility is in a residential neighborhood, you can implement features that make the office look like a home. One way to do so is using high-pitched roofs instead of flat commercial roofs. And the same holds true in reverse: if your facility is in a commercial district, your landscaping and color schemes should match the neighboring buildings.

For George Aquino of Derrel’s Mini Storage in Fresno, Calif., keeping the office up-to-date is the best way to give a facility flair. Beyond fresh paint, remodeling and retrofitting can make a dramatic impact both inside and out. Curb appeal is one thing, but once they enter your office, you need “office appeal.”

Water features can be great for curb appeal also. “We have a signature fountain water feature in our gardens with rocks and geysers,” says Aquino. “Our fountains are definitely unique and give our facility flair.” He adds that you can also add little awnings and trim around a window to dress up old, flat stucco. You can attach architectural forms and shapes such as arches or horizontal beams to stucco in a way that makes it appear built-in. This adds more texture and architectural interest. Inside the office, you can hang attractive paintings on the walls.

Jordan says there is a trend in the industry toward making the offices comfortable, warm, and inviting. More facilities are putting in coffee bars and workstations suitable for laptops. Wireless networks allow tenants to pick up e-mails and sip on coffee. Just about every facility Jordan Architects designs offers some variation on that theme. “We also pay a lot of attention to materials, lighting, windows, architecture, trim—everything, so when customer walk in, it’s got a nice, warm feel to it,” Jordan says.

Keeping Women In Mind
Self storage architects have been designing with feminine preferences in mind for some time because the majority of self storage consumers are women. That forces a retail rather than an industrial presentation from the outside in, Jordan says. The retail presentation includes large windows to merchandise wares and view the friendly faces in the office.

For women customers, creating a feeling of safety is paramount. “I would never use gray glass or mirrored glass because it would block the views,” Jordan says. “You want people to see in there and see your product, which is the retail presentation. You want them to see the managers in at the customer service counter. So when they pull in and park, they know what’s on the other side of that glass.” He says many developers make the mistake of using mirrored or dark-colored glass through which customers can’t see inside the office. “I think that’s a big mistake to be avoided,” Jordan says.

To appeal most to women, designers use warm, friendly, and inviting trim, floors, and cabinets. Jordan is seeing more facilities use granite, for example, and more dramatic lighting. When women drive by on the street, he says, they can see into the big windows with the attractive lighting and it invites them to come inside. An open window with a full view inside offers a sense of cleanliness, safety, and security, even from the curb.

Gleaning From Other Industries
You can learn much about curb appeal by looking at the practices of other industries, such as retail strip malls. Most of the new strip malls in Aquino’s territory, for example, are adopting a Tuscan look. That architectural style brings more texture to the building through columns, porches. tiles, and stonework. The roof, he says, isn’t the “go-as-cheaply-as-you-can” metal variety, but, instead, is tiled. Landscaping is a also a greater focus with this design style.

Jordan is an advocate at trying new things. That may mean having managers talk to customers to elicit conversations about improvements that could be made to the site or to the product offered. This can lead to mixed-use concepts. Jordan recalls one facility where he designed an office that sat out in front of the self storage facility. People can store the products they sell on eBay in 5-by-5 units in the back area of the office where the shipping and receiving facilities are located. The managers take the orders in and ship them out.

“We also had about 15 offices that could be rented month-to-month and common conference rooms with plasma screens for video and computer presentation,” Jordan says. “Anyone who rented the office could sign up and use the conference room. That has been a very, very strong concept. It’s about paying attention to your customers and looking at what might be happening in your area that would work well. You have to be in tune with what’s going on in your local market and provide products that work for that market.”

Don’t Forget Maintenance
Okay, so much for more extravagant curb appeal enhancements. Let’s get back to the basics. After all, strength is always in the fundamentals. If you let these areas slip, fancy clock towers and roof tiles might not do you much good in the end. General maintenance is one of those fundamentals.

Pogoda stresses the importance of keeping our properties fresh looking. “Keep them meticulously clean and don’t let them go downhill,” he says. “In other words, invest in maintenance.” He admits that this is easy to say but sometimes not as easy to do, because maintenance takes money. Cleanliness, however, costs little.

Signage can be an important element of curb appeal, but Aquino says too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. Many managers are tempted to put so much signage outside that it begins to look unprofessional. Old and sagging banners give a poor impression, as do storefront display cardboard boxes that are weathered and dirty.

“Anything that makes the project appealing and noticeable from the street—do it,” Pogoda says, offering paint—and the color of paint—as a prime example. This doesn’t necessarily mean painting the property all one color. It could mean the use of stripes. It could mean painting the doors a different color. There is a reason Public Storage has orange doors, he reminds us. Not only do they attract attention, they have produced consistency for the brand.

Terry Huber, president of BETCO, Inc., a self storage building and component manufacturer headquartered in Statesville, N.C., says that adding soffits to hallways adds a sense of brightness and security. Huber also says hallway floors showing wear and tear can be revitalized with epoxy, which will make them easier to clean and maintain. Easier maintenance saves time and money.

On a more superficial basis, there are products on the market that can bring back the luster to pre-painted exterior doors that are fading as well as facades that add a fresh look. “Fake stone or brick can be used to brighten up the exterior of buildings and improve the curb appeal of a facility,” Huber explains. “We are all well aware that an attractive exterior appearance is important to customers when choosing a clean and safe place to store their valuables.”

Maintenance-Free Curb Appeal
Bumper posts are another item that tend to look worn. “Self storage facilities have lots of bumper posts because they want to protect their building from damage that comes from people who don’t know how to drive big moving trucks,” says Frank Venegas, president and CEO of Ideal Group, Inc., the parent company of Ideal Shield. “The bumper posts need to be bright and clean so people will see them. You’ve got to paint them at least twice a year.”

Venegas’ company, which is a Detroit, Mich.-based manufacturer of guardrail and post systems, offers a product that eliminates the need to paint your bumper posts. Venegas says he got the idea while visiting a Ford Motor Company plant and watching the maintenance man paint the bumper post. He figured there must be a better way to keep the posts looking good without spending 30 minutes to paint each pole several times a year.

That better way was bumper post sleeves, which are now used at many facilities. These come in multiple colors to match a facility’s theme. Las Vegas, Nev.-based Street Smart Solutions also offers maintenance-free bollard sleeves, as do other companies.

Between labor and supplies, Venegas estimates that self storage operators spend $15 to $20 per post each time they paint it. Since bumper post sleeves range in price from $30 to $50, the product can offer a 100 percent return on investment in as little time as a year. Most important, however, is that the posts always look fresh and clean.

Ideal Shield also sells guardrails and sign systems that clearly mark the traffic flow in the parking lot. The company’s latest products include customizable landscape lighting that features ultraviolet and LED technology and can include changeable advertising promotions behind clear glass covers.

Ultimately, curb appeal strategies haven’t really changed all that much. Yes, there are design features that can be added. Yes, we can learn from other industries. Yes, new idea emerge. And yes, new products come to market. But the bottom line with curb appeal is still common sense maintenance. Remember to carry that theme to the inside of the facility. Whatever improves the overall look of the facility’s exterior is a winner in the quest for curb appeal.

Jennifer LeClaire is a freelance writer based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, and a regular contributor to Mini Storage Messenger and Self Storage Now! Her clients include The Associated Press, and The New York Times.