Riverchase company snags top beauty award for 2022

Chorus SmartSecure, a home security and smart home automation company based in the Riverchase Office Park, doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic from customers at its office.

But President Rob Hardman said he still likes to have a building with nice landscaping and was thrilled to find out his company won the Hoover Beautification Board’s top Commercial Beautification Award this year.

Chorus SmartSecure is at 2183 Parkway Lake Drive in a building formerly occupied by the Wayne’s pest control, lawn and landscape maintenance and home repair company, which previously won the Beautification Board’s top award four years ago.

Employees of Wayne’s redesigned the landscaping at the front entrance about seven to eight years ago, and the man who was the business leader for the landscape services division of Wayne’s, Aaron Sanders, still is in charge of keeping it maintained with his current company, Acre Landscape.

Hardman said Sanders and his crew keep the grounds looking good, taking care of cutting and treating the grass, trimming the bushes and routinely replacing the flowers and pine straw.

Keeping the place looking nice makes for a better work environment for employees, which in turn helps the company, Hardman said.

“You’re going to get more creativity throughout the day and more energized employees,” he said.

Chorus SmartSecure won the Beautification Board’s top award from among 32 companies nominated for a commercial beautification award this year, board President Christine Hofmann said.

The Beautification Board gives out its commercial awards every two years.

Each property nominated was judged on five criteria, including first impression, creative design, plant selection, maintenance and hardscape design maintenance, Hofmann said.

Chuck Kelly of Kelly Landscape Architects was one of three judges for the Hoover Beautification Board this year and said the Chorus SmartSecure building stood out for a number of reasons.

First, the landscaping has a unique design that goes beyond what most commercial buildings have, Kelly said.

“I think somebody got to be creative and have some fun with it,” he said.

The entrance to the building includes a koi pond with a small rock waterfall and streams that flow in two directions to a common drain. There are walkways over both streams.

More flowers, plants and trees welcome people onto the property by the company’s sign along Parkway Lake Drive, and a tightly-lined gravel path wraps around the building. The lawn had a vibrant green color and smooth cut during a visit in August.

The landscaping also does a good job of blending grasses, shrubs and trees together and includes a variety of colors and textures with an array of flowers and other plants, Kelly said.

“It was well done,” he said. “I think they use somebody that understands plants and creates seasonal interest.”

Also, the lawn and other plants were well maintained, Kelly said. “They kept the project in great shape. It’s well manicured, and I suspect it looks that way all the time.”

Other judges were Jennafer Collins, a landscape architect who owns a company called GreenSpace, and Kim Marlin, a horticulturist with the city of Hoover.

Chorus SmartSecure first won in the single-tenant business category before being declared the overall winner with the highest score from judges, Hofmann said.

The other categories and winners were:

► Large office complex: Meadow Brook Corporate Park

► Professional office: St. Vincent’s One Nineteen, 7191 Cahaba Valley Road

► Service stations and convenience stores: Mapco, 200 Inverness Center Drive

► Retirement community: Galleria Woods, 3850 Galleria Woods Drive

► Hotels and motels: Hyatt Place, 2980 John Hawkins Parkway

► Shopping malls, shopping strips and mixed use centers: Stadium Trace Village

► Fire stations: Hoover Fire Station No. 11 in Trace Crossings, 4000 Langston Ford Drive

► Restaurants: Chick-fil-A at The Grove, 5658 Grove Blvd.

► Churches: Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 4600 Preserve Parkway

► Educational facilities: Prince of Peace Catholic School, 4650 Preserve Parkway

► Financial institutions: America’s First Federal Credit Union, 3312 Old Columbiana Road