Duke Realty Wins ALCA Award

Herndon, VA - Duke Realty Corp., Indianapolis, Ind., is the 2003 recipient of the prestigious Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) Landscape Contribution Award.

This award was established by ALCA in 1986 to honor major corporations, municipalities and developers who create landscape awareness by their dedication to achieving high standards of exterior and/or interior landscaping through the use of professional landscape contractors. Previous recipients of this coveted award include Marriott Corp., Walt Disney World, Embassy Suites, McDonald’s Corp., the Koll Corp., Draper & Kramer, the Charles E. Smith Cos., Hewlett-Packard, Anheuser-Busch, The Opryland Hotel, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Faison Associates, DMB Associates, Del Webb Corp., Cisco Systems, Chicago Park District, and The Rouse Co.

For Duke Realty Corp., landscaping does more than lend aesthetic appeal to a property. It creates a better environment for tenants and the surrounding communities. Its devotion to landscaping, commitment to follow-through by providing superior landscaped facilities and determination to hold landscape vendors accountable for creating lush and well-maintained sites have made the company the clear choice for this award. The latest major corporation to receive this recognition from ALCA, Duke Realty Corp. will receive the award at the Executive Forum in San Diego, Calif.

Duke Realty has been offering premier real estate solutions for more than 30 years, and today it does business in 13 markets throughout the midwestern and southeastern United States. The real estate development company was nominated for this honor by The Brickman Group, Long Grove, Ill.

“Our emphasis on landscaping is a direct reflection of what our clients want,” says John Nemecek, Duke’s senior vice president, asset/property management. Nemecek, who has been in real estate for 20 years and with Duke for nine years, points out that clients today are interested in more than the inside of a building. They want the exterior landscape to be appealing to tenants, too. “Visit our office parks around lunch time, and you will likely see people walking, conversing, and enjoying the outside,” he notes. “Hence, walking paths, water features, and color installations that liven up the exterior are common elements on many of our properties.”

Duke Realty has more than 3,500 satisfied companies who occupy 110 million square feet of space in cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. Ninety-nine percent of its real estate interests are in industrial/office properties with the remainder in retail outlets. Landscaping of industrial and office properties is a part of the formula that makes Duke a dominant real estate provider in the markets it serves.

The company, though, does more than ask landscape architects and maintenance contractors to design and maintain a beautiful landscape. It holds them accountable and insists they walk the fine line between developing a landscape that may be costly and difficult to maintain and one that is more cost-effective. Even though the company has a landscaping component on all its properties, the level of emphasis depends on the needs of the tenants and the surrounding community. “A bulk warehouse tenant, for example, might consider a beautiful landscape to be less important than would tenants in a Class A office park,” adds Nemecek, noting that there are other times when a property’s location helps determine the level of landscaping.

Nemecek also pointed out that commercial real estate projects located near residential areas require unique landscaping designs. Consideration might include curb appeal, high plantings, berms, and neighbors’ needs. “We try to be a good neighbor,” said Nemecek.

Although most of Duke’s landscaping efforts are directed at new properties, the company has given older complexes a new look, too. Again, it all depends on what the client wants, emphasizes Nemecek. Yes, Duke Realty considers landscaping as a selling point in the marketing of its properties and a characteristic that sets the company apart from its competition, but it is not all about market share and the bottom line. Duke Realty also strives to make the communities where it does business a better places to live, a philosophy that aligns perfectly with ALCA’s commitment to recognize companies that, through their landscape efforts, have made a real contribution to the quality and aesthetics of the environment.

For more information about the ALCA Landscape Contribution Award program, visit the ALCA Web site at www.alca.org or contact ALCA at 800/ 395-2522.