The aesthetic of Century City never fails to coincide with the tiny but mighty community’s business-centered, high-class standards: the streets are clean, the grass is green, and the buildings are well maintained. Ever wondered about the amount of effort that must go into upholding such an image?
For an astonishing 80 percent of Century City’s buildings and public areas, ValleyCrest, a 65-year-old landscape development company, can be held responsible. Tom Cutrono of ValleyCrest further delved into the work his company performs as well as the amount of labor necessary to upkeep the landscape quality.
“ValleyCrest is responsible for maintenance and operation in and around Century City,” Cutrono said. “We maintain and care for the central medians on Avenue of the Stars as well as the Fox Plaza, Century Plaza Towers, and the InterContinental Hotel, which are our larger projects.”
Seeing as ValleyCrest oversees structures on all of Century City’s major streets, including Century Park East and Century Park West, Cutrono elaborated on the team that strives to keep Century City visually appealing and optimally functioning.
“We have a team of about four to seven people who are in charge of daily care of the facilities,” Cutrono said. “They’re out there mowing, weeding, and taking care of the irrigation systems as well. There’s a lot of irrigation technology that we use.”
Recently, ValleyCrest undertook water-sensible planning at the InterContinental, as well as on Avenue of the Stars, with the goal of more efficient irrigation in mind.
“We installed solar smart controllers and water-sensible plants like yuccas,” Cutrono said. “We have an irrigation technician who is heavily involved with this work.”
Cutrono also explained some of the differing standards of the prominent buildings that ValleyCrest helps maintain.
“At Fox Plaza, we have a team out there three or four days a week,” Cutrono said. “They have very, very strict maintenance specifications and standards. You cannot have one leaf out of place; a lot of detailing and mowing goes into this maintenance.”
Likewise, Century Plaza Towers requires the same team of landscape maintenance workers to be present “all day, every day,” as there is a “debris component that ValleyCrest must abide by.” The team makes sure that all trash and other debris are rid of on a daily basis.
Such high standards, however, align perfectly with the objective of ValleyCrest’s services.
“Century City has the type of clientele that our company likes to partner with,” Cutrono said. “We are basically looking to service clients that put landscaping as one of their primary benefits to their tenants and their visitors. We like to work with partners who recognize value in landscape.”
As a result of matching values, Cutrono and ValleyCrest first started becoming involved with the Century City Chamber of Commerce about 20 years ago.
“We wanted to get more involved with the community and build business on the Westside,” Cutrono said.
From providing centerpieces for events to volunteering at golf tournaments to sponsoring art exhibits, Cutrono said that ValleyCrest has enjoyed helping the Chamber in different events, which is telling of the symbiotic relationship that the city and the landscape servicing company share.
Birthed in 1949, ValleyCrest is known as an experienced landscape partner that designs, builds, maintains, and enhances the aesthetic of various settings, from corporate campuses to master-planned communities. It is one of the largest integrating landscape services in the nation, offering design, installation, maintenance, and tree growing and moving. ValleyCrest has embarked on over a hundred projects worldwide, from local landscaping in Century City to parks in the Middle East.
For more information, call 818.223.8500 or visit valleycrest.com.
