Case Study

Revitalizing Merchants Walk in Brentwood, Tennessee

Picture is of the finished Merchant's Walk project.

Merchants Walk, a managed commercial center owned and managed by an Alabama-based real estate firm in Brentwood, Tennessee, was seeking a professional painting, coating, and repair partner to help them revitalize the managed commercial building they had recently acquired. This included things like making minor repairs and repainting the building’s exterior. The main purpose of the project was for them to invest in their new space for an updated and more modern aesthetic. The project posed some unique challenges, including coordinating project work to ensure minimal disruptions while the businesses stayed open throughout the duration of the project.

Conditions

Since the Merchants Walk managed commercial center hadn’t been updated in a while, the building’s exterior required additional repairs prior to repainting. This was important for the new owners to ensure the building was updated and well maintained for years to come.

Challenges

The key challenge our team faced while completing this project was coordinating project work around the businesses in the center that stayed open throughout the duration of the project. To make sure there were minimal disruptions, our team worked closely with the owners, managers, and individual tenants to ensure safe practices were in place at all times.

Process

Scope

Our team worked with the owners and managers of Merchants Walk to learn more about their upcoming project and the specific needs they wanted addressed. This helped us better understand what was driving the project, why they wanted to complete it now, and what outcome they were looking to gain from the completion of their project. Ultimately, they wanted to update the building to increase curb appeal with a more modern scheme, while also addressing necessary facade repairs to ensure long-term asset protection.

On-Site Analysis

We met with them on-site to examine and evaluate the needs of the building. This allowed our team to ensure that everything would be addressed, even down to the smallest details, and that we’d be able to provide high-quality, long-lasting results the center could enjoy for years to come.

Proposal

Our team shared what we found based on our initial scope discussions and on-site analysis. The owners of Merchants Walk could then better understand the costs associated with their project, what types of paint or coating products are necessary, and the warranty they’d have once the project was completed.

Pre-Construction

Prior to beginning work on-site, our team introduced who would be the retail center’s main point of contact throughout the duration of their project and made sure everything was coordinated. We also made sure that we communicated with individual tenants to put safety practices in place and arrange when project work would be completed.

Scheduled Communication

Throughout the duration of the project, our team provided detailed communication to help our customers stay aware of what was happening at each project stage. This was especially important because we needed to paint, coat, and repair many structures, including bare brick, columns, a large staircase (a focal point of the center), barrel awnings, and roof mansards. These required the use of metal-specific products with temperature requirements, as well as multiple coats of Loxon XP for the bare brick.

Whether we were providing photographic or verbal updates, our team made sure everyone had all the information they needed to feel confident in the progress and operations of the project.

Final Walk

Once all the painting, coatings, and repairs were implemented, we did a final walk-through around the community to make sure the project outcomes were predictable and met their expectations. Our team was very pleased to see the owners, managers, and tenants so excited about the updated look and feel of their newly refreshed retail center.

Timeline

From start to completion, the timeline for this project was tight and needed to be finished in a timely manner. Specifically, the project was awarded to our team in the mid-fall and needed to be completed by the end of the calendar year. We were able to meet this goal for them, while still providing them with quality and predictability.

Outcome & Benefits

The new paint, coatings, and repairs our team implemented gave Merchants Walk an updated, modern look. They were so pleased with the outcome of their project that we received a 10/10 net promoter score, as well as additional opportunities to work with the owner in multiple states with other properties they hold.

6 months after the project, the owners enlisted an architecture firm to evaluate the work our team had done and the report shared, “Overall, they are very pleased with how the painting is holding up after 6+ months.”