It's a wash for the tenants so no motivation.Personally I believe the costs of energy savings and especially "green" is a waste of money if tenants are paying for utilities.

@Sam Amir Why would damage to the garage be treated any differently than damage to a washing machine?

However, is there any reason to believe that the communities recent push to improve the area could result in an increased level of appreciation over the next few years?

If he represents you, I'd want to know why he's not pushing to get what you've asked for.  

The economies of scale push it over the top for me.

You can have an excellent employee with you for years and by having a new hire that is a crappy employee it can push away the great employees to leave dealing with their stuff all the time.Is there a way to have 2 washers and dryers? 

Being from CT it was this exact type of analysis that pushed me into note investing rather than SF or MF rentals in the state.

Recently, one guy said the value was adequate, but they wanted me to pressure wash the front sidewalk.

They would go into rentals which pushes rents up.

About the only ground you can't push them into is frozen ground.If you do use poles, be sure to avoid anything like street lights, signals, traffic signs, etc.