Hartline
Partners
A written record of Tuesday's walkthrough, written so anyone reviewing the budget can follow the reasoning without having been there.
Renata — before this goes to Marcus
You mentioned this has to go to Marcus in finance, and that he's never seen the space the way we walked it. So I wrote this for him as much as for you. Everything below is what we actually discussed, in the order we discussed it, with the numbers exactly as I quoted them.
Nothing here needs a response. If it raises questions from his side, send them over and I'll answer plainly — including the ones where the answer isn't in my favor.
What matters to you
- The lobby should say something before anyone speaks. Today it reads as a corridor: double-height, north-facing glass, almost no light past two in the afternoon, and what you called "competent and forgettable."
- No maintenance burden on your team. Nobody at Hartline should be watering anything, ever. That was a condition, not a preference.
- Nothing that looks dead in February. The building shuts off the HVAC on weekends, and you've seen one installation go brown by the second winter, so the plant list starts there.
- Each floor gets a plan for its own light. The conference rooms on 3 have east light until mid-morning and nothing after; the open floor on 4 has filtered light all day.
- A number Marcus can defend. You said the recurring line is what gets questioned in budget review, not the install.
The concept, zone by zone
- Lobby — one architectural specimen, not a grouping A single large-format planting at the seating end, scaled to the double height so it reads at a distance. Grouped smaller containers would disappear in that volume and double the service time.
- Conference rooms — low, quiet, at the sideboard Nothing on the table and nothing in a sightline. Two low containers per room, sized so they don't compete with a screen share.
- Open floor on 4 — a soft division, not a wall A run of planters along the circulation path to break the sightline across sixty desks without closing the floor in.
- Containers in one family throughout Matte, neutral, consistent across all three zones so the building reads as designed rather than accumulated.
Scope of work
Included: design and species selection, all plant material, containers, soil and drainage media, delivery, placement and installation, one round of adjustment within thirty days, and removal of all packaging and debris.
Ongoing service includes: visits every two weeks, watering and feeding, pruning and cleaning, seasonal rotation of the two conference-room containers, and full replacement of any plant that declines under our care at no additional cost.
Not included: electrical or plumbing work, supplemental lighting if the building changes the lobby glazing, holiday or event decoration, and any planting outside the three zones described above.
What it costs, three ways
The number Marcus will actually look at
The recurring $640 is the line that gets questioned in budget review, so here it is from the other side: across roughly 12,000 square feet, that's about five cents per square foot per month, or a little over $21 a day. I'm not offering that framing to make it sound small — it's just the shape a facilities line item is usually evaluated in.
Why this fits — and where I'd cut
- It solves the zone you actually care about. Roughly half the install budget sits in the lobby, because that's where the impression you described is either made or missed.
- Every species chosen survives a cold weekend. The HVAC setback drove the plant list before aesthetics did, which is the difference between this and the installation that went brown on you.
- Your team touches nothing. Biweekly service and a replacement guarantee mean the maintenance burden is contractually ours, not culturally yours.
Where this may not be the right fit
If the budget needs to come down, the lobby specimen is the first thing I'd cut, and I'd rather tell you that than have it discovered in review. Removing it takes roughly $6,500 off the install and about $90 off the monthly. What you'd lose is the only element in this plan that changes how the space feels on arrival — the conference rooms and floor 4 are comfort, not impression. If the choice is between a reduced lobby and no lobby, do the lobby and defer floor 4 to next year. And if the recurring fee is the real obstacle rather than the install, say so; a monthly-only pilot in one zone is a legitimate way to start.
What could change the final number
These figures reflect what I saw on Tuesday. They can change based on:
- Loading dock and freight elevator access for the lobby specimen.
- Existing floor conditions if protection or leveling is required.
- Container lead times, currently six to eight weeks on the matte line specified.
- Plant availability at the size specified, which is seasonal.
- Building or landlord requirements — COI limits, after-hours access, union labor rules.
- Any change to the three zones described in scope.
Nothing is ordered and no cost is incurred until a signed proposal and deposit are in place. If any of the above shifts the number, I'll tell you what changed and by how much before anything proceeds.
If you'd like a next step
There's no deadline on my end beyond the validity date above, which exists because material pricing moves.
If Marcus wants to walk the space himself before deciding, I'll do a second walkthrough at no cost — it's usually the fastest way to answer a budget question. If you'd rather adjust the scope first, tell me the number you need to hit and I'll rework it rather than guess. And if it's a no for this cycle, just say so and I'll follow up next year.