4900 Main

Kansas City’s South Plaza neighborhood is home to a mixed-use area along Main Street with bustling office buildings, beautiful streetscapes, and an inviting retail area. Each afternoon, people from surrounding areas make their way to this street to grab lunch or run errands. The properties on the west side of Main Street, between 49th and 50th are owned by VanTrust Real Estate. This is a high traffic, high visibility area, and its grounds must be maintained at a very high level. VanTrust works with MC Realty, a property management company to focus on delivering “first class grounds maintenance, [which] has been made possible by the partnership with Signature Landscape,” says Mark Salyer, Property Manager with MC Realty for 4900 Main.

Mark manages thirteen properties, nine of which he works with Signature Landscape to provide grounds maintenance services. When choosing a grounds maintenance provider, Mark looks for “a combination of things. Depending on the ownership it is often price. With other owners it is about performance and how the property looks. For me, personally, it often comes down to the relationship built over time.” In Mark’s experience, the most challenging things when dealing with vendors are their performance and whether they follow up on calls for service. He says, “Signature is outstanding at following up on issues reported and understanding the needs of each property.”

Signature’s Account Manager for VanTrust’s properties on Main Street is Trevor Taylor. Trevor communicates with Mark on a regular basis about the conditions of the property, upcoming weather events, and historical issues that may need attention. He helps coordinate with Mark for important events, walkthroughs, the planting of annual flowers, irrigation system scheduling, and any other variety of issues.

Over the last 5 years, Signature’s team has installed several landscape projects as well as implemented improvements in flower beds, irrigation, etc. “Periodically, VanTrust will request specific improvements. Extending annual flower beds and adding more hanging baskets are examples of a few projects in the past,” says Trevor. In 2016, Signature was able to work with Mark and VanTrust on a project that revamped the tree well beds along Main Street. Ornamental grasses were removed and the beds were amended. Then, a beautiful mix of annual flowers were added to enhance the look, making the streetscape vibrant and colorful. “The office tenants at 4900 Main have complimented numerous times in the past few years on the landscape improvements,” comments Mark.

The landscape in a commercial setting is critical to attracting customers, tenants, and future employees to a property or business. Signature has brought value to the 4900 Main area by “being creative with bed designs that bring curb appeal to the properties,” says Mark. Signature enjoys having the opportunity to improve the lives of the people who live, work, and visit this community by partnering with MC Realty and VanTrust.