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Industry
Workplace & Public Spaces
Challenge
The City of Tampa wanted a large-scale living wall inside City Center at Hanna Avenue, its new municipal services building: one continuous green feature that wraps around a doorway, carries the city’s logo, and stays healthy for years in a high-traffic public interior.
Results
A 238 sq ft indoor living wall with more than 2,000 plants, completed in early 2023. Maintained monthly by GrowUp's partner Frida's, it was photographed full and healthy in December 2025, nearly three years after installation.
Key Product
Custom Living Walls
City of Tampa, City Center at Hanna Avenue
City Center at Hanna Avenue is the City of Tampa’s 161,000 square foot municipal services building at 2555 East Hanna Avenue, opened in 2023 and used every day by city employees and visitors. The living wall sits in a high-traffic interior area of the building and carries the City of Tampa seal.
The Challenge
The City of Tampa wanted a living wall inside City Center at Hanna Avenue, its new 161,000 square foot municipal services building, that would work as a civic statement: large-scale, vibrant greenery in a space used every day by employees and visitors. The wall was never going to be a simple rectangle. It had to wrap around a doorway and still read as one continuous green surface, and it had to carry the City of Tampa logo without losing the natural character of the planting.
Scale raised the practical questions. At 238 square feet and more than 2,000 plants, the wall needed a dependable water supply, safe drainage inside a finished public building, and a care plan that would keep it full for years, including the lower section that sits in a high-traffic area.
The Solution
Designed around the architecture
We designed the wall on GrowUp's modular tray system with 4-inch living plants. A combination of 4-pot, 2-pot and 1-pot trays let the layout adapt to the doorway and the edges of the wall, so the planting follows the architecture as a continuous feature instead of sitting flat beside it. The planting is lush, bright green foliage that brings energy and movement to the interior. The modular layout also keeps plant placement flexible and makes future maintenance straightforward.
Irrigation and drainage built in
The wall is connected directly to the building's water supply. Integrated irrigation delivers water throughout the wall, and a gutter along the bottom captures excess water and sends it safely to the building's drainage system.
Installation
Installation took place at the start of 2023. Given the scale of the wall, our team worked from a scissor lift to reach the upper sections safely and efficiently. The City of Tampa logo was mounted on standoffs in front of the planting, so the signage stays clearly visible while the greenery runs uninterrupted behind it.
Ongoing maintenance
Living walls need regular care to stay at their best. This one is maintained once a month by GrowUp's trusted maintenance partner, Frida's. Each visit takes approximately four hours and covers pruning, plant health checks, irrigation inspection and general upkeep, with a scissor lift used for the upper areas. Plants in the lower section are occasionally bumped by people passing, so up to 20 plants are replaced during a visit when needed to keep the wall full.
The Results
The finished wall covers 238 square feet with more than 2,000 living plants. It gives City Center at Hanna Avenue a natural focal point and a welcoming interior for the employees and visitors who pass it every day.
The maintenance photos on this page were taken in December 2025, nearly three years after installation. The wall is full, healthy and doing the job it was designed to do. It shows what considered design, integrated irrigation and consistent professional care deliver over the long term: a living feature that keeps its impact year after year.
Watch the wall being maintained, nearly three years after installation.
Planning a living wall for a civic or commercial space?
