Palestine Public Librarys Landscape Gets A Facelift

Some very are being made to improve at the this week — changes that will make the library more convenient and pleasing to its .

“Our new look is fresh, attractive and inviting,” library director Carol Herrington said. “Every day, at least one library to me about how much they like it.”

The project includes the construction of steps and a paved walkway from the rear parking lot, the removal of shrubs around the building and the addition of butterfly and to the library’s landscaping.

A new irrigation system also has been installed; and the removal of the bushes in front of the building created four new much-needed near the library’s main entrance.

“Since I have been director here, about 90 percent of the suggestions I have received included the need for additional ,” Herrington said. “So I know will appreciate getting those additional spaces out of this change.”

The new set of steps and pavestone also have been a long- at the library — providing directionality to its .

“We have had people park in the rear lot and not know where to come in,” Herrington said. “The and new signs will make a big difference.”

To give its a sense of ownership, Anderson County included the “,” in their landscaping design. That garden, located at the front of the building, will be filled through a bulb set for June 7.

“We want patron to bring bulbs from their garden to plant here at the library and to exchange with other gardeners,” and landscape Nancy Waggoner said Wednesday. “The goal is to have people to walk by and say ‘that bulb was from my garden.’

“We want them to have a sense of pride and identity when they visit the library,” she added.

The , located at the rear of the library, will be included as a means to educate the about plant and animal life. A new curved pavestone will allow visitors a full view of the area.

“We have designed the so that there will be something blooming all season,” Waggoner said. “And as the plants mature through the years, I think it is only going to get better.”

According to Herrington, the project came about after learning about the cause of the library’s ongoing flooding problems — the large shrubs around the building were holding water against the walls.

“The Library Board decided to go forth and develop a new landscape design for the library,” Herrington said. “The library board took bids for the design, which was developed and won by the Anderson County .”

Also winning bids for the project were Jo Ann Pigeon , Blackstone and Palestine Concrete &; Tile. A community work squad from the local Gurney Unit has provided much of the labor.

“ Ron Sullivan was able to bring the Gurney crew in, which saved us a significant sum of money,” Herrington said. “Warden Karen Brown and her crew have done and great job. We could not have done this without them.”

Funding for the project has been provided by a $15,000 matching grant from the Palestine Economic Development Corporation, with the Friends of the Library and the Library Memorial Board contributing the initial funds.

“The library appreciates the efforts and cooperation of all the participating to make the project come to fruition,” Herrington said. “It is amazing what can be accomplished when people work together for a common goal.”

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Saturday, May 31st, 2008

Landscaping Design No Comments

Planning Commission Seeking Further Revisions To Berendos Home Proposal

The is seeking as small a as possible for a home on Berendos Avenue in .

Nestled between a hillside and and at the mouth of Modoc Place and Avenue, the one-acre lot has a very small with natural restrictions and city regulations already in place. The owner, Dave Colt, reduced the scale of a former version of his plans to present to the April 21. Nevertheless, the commissioners unanimously requested Colt return June 2 with a revision that puts less of a on the lot Landscaping Idea. The commissioners also requested Colt return with a plan that calls for no parking on the street in the front of the lot, which will require a variance on the front setback that is normally required.

The commissioners were pleased with some aspects of the scaled-down , but were intrigued that the coverage on the lot could get even smaller.

The version of the plans they reviewed called for a two-story home containing four bedrooms, three baths with a limited, uninhabitable attic space that will not be higher than . The total living area was reduced from 3,500 square feet to 2,700 . The overall height of the home would be 26 feet, reduced from 35 feet. A two-car attached garage with two adjacent on the developed part of the lot was proposed. The commissioners were concerned those must be placed well clear of the street and will not present a traffic or pedestrian . The curb will be painted red to prevent people from parking along that portion of the street.

A sidewalk on the portion of the lot facing the street will be created out of . Addressing concerns from the neighbors about safety on that part of the road, the sidewalk will be open to the public. During construction, trucks will not be permitted to block the roadway as it is narrow and would severely restrict .

The home was relocated on the lot 25 feet away from the creek to increase the habitat of the San Francisco garter snake and California red-legged frog, as recommended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is now at the base of the hill and 15 feet from the closest dwelling on Modoc Place. Some eucalyptus trees will have to be removed, which raised objections from several neighbors who objected to a potential loss of wildlife.

Planning staff prepared a mitigated negative declaration and asserts it is all that is necessary to fulfill CEQA requirements. However, many members of the public who addressed the commissioners at past meetings and at this last meeting wanted the commissioners to require the owner to prepare a full environmental impact report. They were concerned about , storm water drainage, potential loss of wildlife, the removal of dirt and a sense that the home did not blend in well among the smaller homes of the neighborhood.

Commissioner Rich Campbell, who addressed his colleagues as a member of the public because he lives close to the building site, brought up concerns about protecting wildlife. He also said the unique configuration of pedestrians and vehicles created a potential hazard.

“I appreciate that he tuned it down, but he did not scale it down adequately, 3,000 is not reasonable,” Campbell said. “These safety issues must be addressed. Prohibit parking along that site. There’s still a fair argument for an EIR.”

In response, planning staff added additional requirements to which the owner must now comply, if his project is approved. To address issues about biology, the owner must comply with recommendations from the GGNRA. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service required the owner apply for an incidental take permit for the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake. A condition was added that requires an exclusionary fence and escape funnel designed as recommended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure the endangered species are protected. The habitat area shall not be used for construction purposes. After construction, a permanent barrier - buried at least six inches and rising 24 inches above ground - will replace the . If wildlife is discovered during construction, construction will stop.

Addressing concern about preserving the upland habitat and movement corridors, Landscaping Idea an additional condition was added that prohibits structures, the use of pesticides and other actions that would harm the habitat area.

Addressing culvert and drainage impacts, the city will now require the owner to allow city staff to walk onto the property and maintain the culvert and creek channel. Staff will review and approve a drainage plan the owner will submit. No run-off will be directed into the creek.

The home plans will require a variance for exceeding the allowable lot disturbance and to allow a side yard setback. Planning staff recommended the commissioners approve this and allow a 15.6 percent lot disturbance, with 7.5 percent of that in .

“The may prefer the applicant further reduce the of the building thereby reducing the disturbed area and the amount of the variance needed for the maximum allowable lot coverage,” the staff report reads. In staff’s opinion, it would be possible to design a dwelling of 2,700 or less living area with a smaller that the proposed dwelling. The has expressed concerns about not exceeding the maximum allowable lot coverage for other projects but in this case, the maximum allowable lot coverage is a negative number, which raises practical issues. Also, the dwelling does not exceed the proposed living area threshold for the proposed Mega Home Ordinance.”

The commissioners did not approve the variance at this meeting and instead held out for a plan that decreases the total lot disturbance.

A neighbor asked for story poles to give the community a sense of how they will be impacted by the new residence. A couple of neighbors spoke in favor of the development saying that the owner did a good and thoughtful job developing plans and that it would make a nice addition to the neighborhood.

But one neighbor, Steve Candido, the one whose property is now closest to where the new home will be, said he didn’t appreciate the new setback from the creek.

“It’s right on top of me. But you should let him go forward to the next step,” he said.

The commissioners expressed their pleasure with the progress the owner made on scaling down the project.

“This has been a genuine improvement,” said Commissioner Harold Cicerone, noting there will be a peer review of the plans once the approves them. “A lot of things have been addressed. The actual being disturbed is very small. Idea I don’t need an EIR to tell me there are species on this site. I’m comfortable with that part of it. We are being sensitive to the creek.”

Chair Leo Leon pushed for a smaller .

“This project can be designed with a smaller . I’m concerned about retaining walls, especially if they are unnecessary and I believe they are unnecessary, he said.

Commissioner Celeste Langille said the home is too big for the lot. She asked for a covenant to restrict any future owners of the property from changing the conditions that the planning staff is putting in place. Director of Planning Michael Crabtree responded that those covenants could be put in place.

“This is an environmentally sensitive lot close to a hill and a creek and he will have to get an incidental take permit. The size is out of character with the neighborhood. This is more variance of the Hillside Preservation District than I’d like to see. I would like to see a redesign with a smaller house. Safety is another issue. Parking is not resolved,” she said.

“The applicant has done a fine job,” said Commissioner B. J. Nathanson, noting the elements that will be taken care of by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the peer review. “At what point are we micromanaging what people can do? But I like the idea of a smaller .”

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Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Landscaping Idea No Comments

Ballsbridge House Has Hidden Depths

THERE IS a lot that’s elegant, bright and spacious about 31 Wellington Place, Dublin 2. A grand and notable home when it was built in 1798, it’s weathered the centuries well and, with a nicely gauged rear addition and recent refurbishment, is even more grand today.

The vendors are amongst just a handful of owners since the house was built. The Slazenger family were long-time owners. Now it’s set for auction through Bergins with an AMV of €12.5 million.

It’s a rare detached house set between terraced homes on a leafy, quiet road, that merges with Leeson Street. A big back garden also sets it apart from the neighbours.

The urbane mood of 31 Wellington Place and stylistic value of the addition are best seen from the first floor landing. This is an open, bright space with a sash window to the front and, to the rear, an original arch framing a view of the original wall with a stained glass, porthole window and, below, a second arch leading to the Velux-lit landing of the new return.

Original features, such as plasterwork, doors and the wide plank flooring of other centuries, abound. Fireplaces which aren’t original have been replaced with period-style mantels in marble, sandstone and wood.

Double-fronted, with two floors over a basement swimming pool, the space in the 557sq m (6,000sq ft) house is divided into four bedrooms, five reception rooms and a kitchen-cum-breakfast-room.

A much-used underground swimming is 27.3ft long and is part of a well-equipped fitness/leisure area with sauna and shower room. A spare room at this level could convert to a playroom/den. A gas-fired Aga and a large granite-topped island distinguish a kitchen given a whole other dimension by the garden room into which it leads. Part of the addition, this has a vaulted glass ceiling.

The front door of the house is the heavyweight original and has a lovely fanlight beaming shards of golden light onto the wide, honey-coloured planks of the hallway.

Off this, the main reception rooms have the traditional elegance of their period. Furnished as drawing and sitting-rooms, they have interconnecting concertina doors which fold neatly into the wall.

A French window to the rear opens to the patio and garden, an area enlivened by the use of a variety of stone in a variety of layouts, by giant terracotta pots, a and botanical collection which includes Japanese maple and Portuguese laurel.

A sloped ceiling, garden views and en suite give the bedroom on the return addition a self-contained, cottagey feel.

The other bedrooms are in the original building with the main bedroom, which has a sandstone fireplace, dressingroom and en suite, facing the front. A third, rear-facing en suite bedroom overlooks a spreading ash in the neighbouring garden. Landscaping to the front allows both shrubs and seven to happily co-exist while passages to either side of the house allow for rear access.

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Sunday, April 27th, 2008

Hillside Landscaping No Comments

More Grand Canyon parking proposed

PHOENIX –Federal officials are considering plans to cut down several trees at Grand Canyon National Park to add hundreds of parking spots and ease traffic at the popular South Rim.

The park has only 1,200 available during the day, and many visitors carve out their own spots along roadsides and cut through the forest as they make their way to the canyon edge.

During busy days, people entering the park must navigate past “300 or 400 cars parked along the roadside with a stream of traffic in pedestrians trying to use the road itself as a walkway,” , Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent, said Friday.

“It’s a somewhat unsafe and very chaotic experience right on the rim,” he said.

The National Park Service is exploring three proposals to change the traffic system for the nearly 4.4 million people who visit the area each year. Officials will ask for public comment in March.

Each plan would clear trees to make room for parking lots. They also would expand bicycle access to the community of offices, hotels and shops at the South Rim known as Grand Canyon Village. In addition, the plans call for shuttle bus access to Mather Point, one of the first places where people entering the park can see the canyon.

Park officials are also considering a plan that would leave the park unchanged.

National Park Regional Director Mike Snyder is expected to pick a plan in May.

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Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Landscaping Stone No Comments

SIGNATURE STYLE Holiday gift ideas from around the world

Where in the world can you find a great Christmas gift? You can find a fabulous gift from nearly anywhere in the world right here in the Treasure Valley. Everybody wins if you do your holiday shopping around town. You can support these locally owned or locally run businesses, and support artisans from around the world at the same time. It’s also the perfect way to honor the heritage and interests of those special people in your lives. With that in mind, the elves at Treasure Magazine set out to find a few gift-worthy trinkets that are globally inspired but sold right here at home. In this issue, you’ll also find some Idaho-themed gifts on page 16 and some ideas for the wine aficionado in your life on page 46. And don’t forget the gift of travel. On page 48, there’s a story about how a vacation may be just the thing for your special someone. We hope this issue will inspire you to finish (or start!) your holiday shopping.DAVIES REIDIt’s appropriate that Davies Reid is in a building constructed in 1892. The shop offers oriental and tribal rugs, along with antique furniture, decorative pieces and jewelry. The pieces found here are truly unique, like the historic brick building itself. Launched by Terry and Sharon Davies-Reid, the shop has been in Downtown Boise since the mid-1980s. There are also Davies Reid stores in Ketchum, Jackson, Wyo., and Maui (a sister store called Indigo Paia). Another Davies Reid shop is in the process of opening in Park City, Utah. Dan Ronfeld, who runs the Downtown Boise shop, describes the merchandise as something you experience through touch and smell, as well as sight. Much like an outdoor market in the Middle East (known as a souk), Davies Reid offers an array of pieces meant to be discovered. And everything is on display, inviting customers to drink in the flavor.”It’s almost like a souk,” Ronfeld says. “We have textiles, bed covers, jewelry and rugs. It’s a combination of everything the owners have found everywhere, from Western Turkey to Eastern Indonesia. It’s meant to be touched. We’re not the kind of store parents bring their kids into, and they can’t touch anything.”People can come into this store and spend 45 minutes just experiencing the pieces they discover. And they’ll walk away remembering the way something looked, felt and even smelled.THE BASQUE MARKETThe Basque scene is a defining part of Boise’s unique and beloved culture. You can bring a piece of this heritage home if you visit The Basque Market, located Downtown in what is known locally as “The Basque Block.” The market offers a generous selection of Spanish wines, deli items, cookware and clever gifts, all with a distinctively Basque theme. And the market staff will put together a unique gift basket filled with items you can select based on the recipient’s tastes.Tony Eiguren and Tara McElhose Eiguren purchased the market in mid-2006 (they bought it from Dan Ansotegui, who launched the market in late 2000), and it continues to be the popular gathering place it was under Ansotegui’s ownership. EYES OF THE WORLD IMPORTSYou might say Eyes of the World Imports takes a global approach to customer service. You can learn the ancient practice of yoga at a studio located in the building. Profits from some of the items sold at the store help fund community groups or support individual families in the villages where the pieces are made. Plus, you’ll feel like you’ve traveled around the world after wandering through the store. You’ll find wood-carved masks from Bali, from Brazil and silk scarves made by women in Nepal.If you haven’t been to Eyes of the World Imports lately, you’re in for a surprise or two. In September, the shop moved to a new location in the Linen District. The new shop is twice the size of the old one and includes the Barefoot Studio, offering yoga, tai chi classes and massage by appointment. (It may add a juice bar in the coming months.) Eyes of the World Imports is becoming a one-stop-shop for all things global. WEE BIT O’ SCOTLANDIt doesn’t matter where you come from once you walk into this tiny shop on Emerald Street. Owner John McDade, who grew up in Glasgow, will make you feel right at home. Regular customers show up just for tea and conversation - some regulars keep their tea/coffee mugs at the shop - and you’ll always have a place to sit and relax.”That’s what the chairs are for,” McDade says.This is the place to go for goods from Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom. And if you want to incorporate a bit of Scotland into your own life, McDade can help. He teaches bagpipe lessons, and you can hire his band, Sleekit Beasties Pipes and Drums, to perform for special events. McDade also does a fair share of business for weddings. Grooms can order custom-made kilts at his shop, and McDade can help you find an official who will conduct the wedding ceremony wearing a kilt.If you really want a taste of Scottish culture, mark your calendar for Jan. 25, 2008, when you can participate in the annual Burns Night celebration in Boise at the DoubleTree Riverside. This merry event honors Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet, and has been observed in Boise since 1903, according to McDade, who helps organize the event. More than 600 people attended the 2007 festivities, and if you go you can hear McDade’s band perform. Ticket prices hadn’t been set by press time, but they will be sold at Wee Bit O’ Scotland, so buy a few for a truly unique stocking stuffer. You can get more information on Burns Night by calling McDade’s store. Or just stop in for a visit.POTTERY GOURMETSandra Merritt turned her passion into a career when she opened Pottery Gourmet in November 2005. Merritt loved Polish pottery and couldn’t get enough of the hand-painted, intricate designs. A former professional photographer, Merritt was ready for a career change and decided to open a shop dedicated to her favorite hobby. Polish pottery can be traced back to the 1700s from a place once known as Bunzlau, Germany (the town is now called Boleslawiec and is part of Poland). The pieces are hand-painted and feature distinctive designs and patterns, often in blue. Each unique piece is signed by the artist who created it. The stoneware isn’t just pretty to look at; it is tough enough to go into the oven, the microwave or the dishwasher. You’ll find entire collections - complete with plates, serving dishes, pitchers and more - with the same design. But many of Merritt’s customers like to get creative.”People love to mix and match this stuff,” she says.EASY COOKIN’Like the name suggests, Easy Cookin’ has the kind of casual, breezy vibe that makes you feel right at home. Regardless of your skill level, you’ll feel at ease taking a cooking class taught by one of the high-profile chefs featured here. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the selection is good enough to offer something for everyone, no matter how much or how little you plan to spend.After more than a decade at the Boise Towne Square mall, Easy Cookin’ moved to its Overland Road location in 2004. The new store has enough space for a roomy kitchen that allows chefs to lead classes on everything from Indian cuisine to pastries. Of course, it’s also a great place to purchase gifts for the chef in your life. Whether your chef loves sushi, Italian cuisine or all things grilled, you’ll find something here that is sure to delight.SCANDINAVIA TODAYThere’s no place like home, but sometimes you can re-create what you love best. In Kirsten Dion’s case, that includes upscale, imported furniture and hand-made beds from Sweden. Dion’s journey as an Idaho businesswoman began in 1981, when she moved here from Denmark. Dion bought Scandinavia Today in 1988, when the shop was in Downtown Boise and was known as Scandinavia Design. She had discovered the shop a few years earlier when she was feeling homesick one day and decided to visit Scandinavia Design, which was then in the Albertson’s Market Place at 17th and State streets. She was so impressed with the inventory that she ended up working at the shop. In 1995, she moved the store from its Downtown location to Fairview Avenue, where customers had more and there was more interior space to showcase the upscale, imported furniture that is the store’s specialty. Dion is now offering a better way to sleep. She sells beds handmade in Sweden at the Hstens Shop, next door to Scandinavia Today (she opened the store in October 2005, then opened another Hstens Shop in Seattle in 2006). Hstens beds are filled with horse hair, wool, cotton and flax. Mattresses are stuffed with the natural fibers by hand. Fabric used in the mattresses is hand-measured and cut. According to the company, it takes four to eight hours to hand-sew a mattress. They are assembled with care, one by one, to ensure quality that will withstand the test of time. These beds are so beloved in Sweden that they are sometimes handed down from one generation to the next, Dion says.THE BLACK PEARLThis Eagle favorite is well-stocked with gifts from around the world. Owner Jaimie Harnagel (who also owns Beau Monde Boutique just down the road on Aikens) stocks her shelves with things she loves, such as wood carvings from India and wall hangings made in Haiti.Black Pearl also has an assortment of world music by the popular Putumayo label. Harnagel loves to make her customers happy, so if you don’t see what you want, tell her and she’ll do her best to track it down. She keeps wish lists for her customers, too. Your list of favorite items from her store can be kept on hand so your spouse, friend or relative can get a gift you really want.TEN THOUSAND VILLAGESThere are more than 100 retail shops known as Ten Thousand Villages around the country, but their mission is the same: Support Third World artisans by selling their handmade items, promoting fair trade and furthering appreciation of other cultures.The North End shop is no different. You’ll find entire collections made from materials such as onyx, recycled paper and bamboo. The tiny house in Hyde Park also includes jewelry, charming gifts for children, and food such as fair trade chocolates and coffee. The concept for Ten Thousand Villages can be traced back to 1946. A Mennonite volunteer paid a visit to a sewing class in Puerto Rico, and the experience inspired the woman to discover artisans in other countries.MIMI MARIE BOUTIQUELisa VanDyk is a fashion-savvy gal, and if you love stylish clothes, shoes, handbags and more, she has plenty of secrets to share with you. VanDyk opened Mimi Marie Boutique in November 2005 to share her passion for style with like-minded gals and guys. Mimi Marie’s racks and shelves are loaded with designer labels from around the world. How’s your Italian? Brush up on names like Donald Pliner, Isabella Fiore and Colleen Cordero, because these hot Italian designers are here, along with talented designers from Spain and beyond. Ah, la dolce vita.IT’S A BRITISH THINGCorinne Magee was looking for the comforts of home when she opened It’s a British Thing in February 2007. Magee’s background is in real estate, but after moving to Idaho from Northern England in April 2006 she began thinking about her favorite British foods and how much she missed them. There are plenty of favorites on hand for the holiday season, according to Magee’s daughter, Andrea Magee, who sometimes helps out at the shop. Look for an assortment of sweets and treats, including Christmas puddings, tarts, shortbread, chocolate Brazil nuts and more.”They’re largely sweet luxury things, sweet chocolates and sweet cakes,” Andrea says.FRANKY ROOKArtist Franky Rook moved from Germany to Idaho nearly five years ago, and we’re glad she did. Rook, who grew up near Amsterdam, creates modern, innovative jewelry and breathtaking pieces made of mosaic and glass. Her work can be found at The Black Pearl, Beau Monde Boutique (also in Eagle), and at Studio Artistica, Rook’s Eagle studio. Rook began making jewelry when she was about 6 years old. She’d make bracelets out of paper and loved to play with a box of buttons that belonged to her grandmother. Her first customers were family members. She also made doll houses and furniture, often building and creating with items she’d find around the house, such as a box or paper.”I was always doing something,” Rook says.Inspiration comes from unexpected sources, such as discarded shower heads and pencil sharpeners, beer bottle caps or old bicycle parts. Regardless of the medium she uses, when you purchase a Franky Rook piece, don’t expect to see a duplicate anywhere.”I only make a piece once,” Rook says. “Any piece you buy from me is one of a kind. Every piece should be unique.”Rook does many custom orders, and she is willing to make something similar to a piece she has made before, but it won’t be an exact match. If you’re feeling creative, you can let Rook teach you how to create your own precious metal clay jewelry through one of the classes or workshops she offers.Chereen Langrill writes for Treasure Magazine and the Idaho Statesman. To offer story ideas or comments, contact her at cdlangrill@idahostatesman.com or 672-6733.

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Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

Equipment Landscaping No Comments

Richmond Braves coming to Gwinnett

Final details were being worked out Monday and a news conference has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Gwinnett Center, said Center spokesman Chris Hendley, who declined to discuss the topic.

The Class AAA Richmond Braves, the organization’s highest-level minor-league affiliate, could play in Gwinnett as soon as 2009. The Braves’ three-year contract at the Richmond, Va. stadium, known as The Diamond, runs through the 2010 season, but the Braves have the option to pull out after the 2008 season. A stadium for the Richmond Braves could be built on land the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve purchasing on Tuesday. Tuesday’s commission agenda lists a $5 million “purchase and sale agreement” of about 12 acres of land owned by Brand Properties. Brand Morgan, Brand Properties owner, declined to comment on the sale or what the land will be used for, but did say he plans to attend a news conference at Gwinnett Center on Tuesday.

The land is located along Buford Drive, southeast of I-85 and near the Mall of Georgia.

A Braves spokesman said Monday the team would have no comment.

County Commissioner Mike Beaudreau declined to comment when asked if he knew of plans to relocate the franchise to metro Atlanta or whether the county was involved in the project.

County Commissioner Bert Nasuti said he couldn’t talk about the situation, other than to say county officials are continuing to work extremely hard on bringing baseball to the county. “My hope is that we will be able to speak openly and in great detail on this in a short period of time,” he said.

Demming Bass, a spokesman for the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, also declined to comment, citing confidentiality agreements, and referred telephone calls to Preston Williams, general manager of the Gwinnett Center.

Williams was in a meeting, according to his assistant, and did not immediately return a telephone call.

The news came as a surprise to the city of Richmond, where the minor league team has played since 1966. Linwood Norman, press secretary to the mayor, said the city last heard from the Braves on Jan. 7. Richmond was negotiating a long-term lease to keep the Braves and had just asked for proposals to build a new stadium. “We haven’t heard anything today,” Norman said Monday afternoon.

The city had been dealing with Mike Plant, executive vice president of business operations with the Braves. “We would like to hear from him, if he would like to talk to us,” Norman said.

The Richmond Braves will be the third professional franchise to play in Gwinnett, joining the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League and the Gwinnett Gladiators, a minor-league hockey franchise affiliated with the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers.

Gwinnett’s minor-league field of dreams has been on the table for some time.

Last July, a consulting firm has concluded that the county provides “one of the strongest markets in the country to support a minor-league baseball team.”

That conclusion was contained in a draft report of the study, which was prepared by Convention, Sports %26 Leisure International, a Minnesota-based consulting firm. The Gwinnett Convention %26 Visitors Bureau hired the firm to study the feasibility of building a baseball stadium for a minor-league team in Gwinnett.

The report showed that building and operating the stadium could create hundreds of jobs, generate up to $7 million in every year and generate as much as $12 million in tax revenue over a 30-year period.

The report also put the price tag for building a stadium between $25 million and $.

“It was a pretty detailed and thorough report,” Williams told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution in July. “In comparing Gwinnett County with the demographics of other metro areas that already have minor-league franchises, in most all the categories it was in the top four or five.”

Williams was a leading proponent of the new stadium.

Other highlights of the study:

%26#8226; A Gwinnett stadium should have 5,500 permanent seats, grass seating for up 1,500 people, at least 16 private suites, 300 club seats and 2,300 in walking distance of the stadium.

%26#8226; The projected $890,000 to $1.5 million operating surplus for the stadium wouldn’t be enough to pay off an annual debt of $2.1 million if the stadium were paid for by issuing bonds.

%26mdash; Staff writer Ben Smith and AJC News Reseacher Sharon Gaus contributed to this story.

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Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Landscaping Stone No Comments

The Hartfords Plan So Last Century

I don’t write today about Dumb Feature No.1 of The Hartford’s plan to acquire the 16-acre MassMutual site at the very top of Hartford’s historic Lord’s (Asylum) Hill %26#8212; which is the demolition of the 1926 Colonial Revival headquarters of the former Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris.I don’t write even about Dumb Feature No.2 %26#8212; the addition of yet more surface parking to the enormous existing supply, which has already devastated the Asylum Hill neighborhood.Many others will talk about the city’s disappearing heritage, the stupidity of tearing it down to save it, the thuggery of The Hartford’s threat to leave the city if its needs are not met, and the crassness of bribing city officials by offering a hard-to-find site for the poor beleaguered Pathways magnet school project.

No, I’m going to write here about Dumb Feature No.3: the stunning irresponsibility of a plan that aids and abets and thus global warming, and therefore works against our national security by increasing our dependence on foreign oil. The plan is unpatriotic.If this seems far-fetched, consider the most recent findings on : that not only cleaner fuels and more fuel-efficient cars will be needed to combat global warming, but also less driving. In “Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change,” published this year by the Urban Land Institute, Smart Growth America, the Center for Clean Air Policy and the National Center for Smart Growth Research %26 Education, a rock-solid case is made that the amount of driving must be reduced.The transportation sector consumes more than 65 percent of our petroleum used, and highway vehicles account for 84 percent of that consumption. The Energy Information Administration (of the U.S. Department of Energy) forecasts that driving will increase 59 percent between 2005 and 2030, outpacing the projected 23 percent increase in population.The EIA also forecasts a fleetwide fuel-economy improvement of 12 percent within this time frame, primarily as a result of new federal standards. Despite the improvement, carbon dioxide emissions will grow by 41 percent, driven entirely by the increase in vehicle miles traveled.It is exactly here that urban development meets global warming.

Should the state’s third-largest employer, with 6,000 employees, be part of the problem or part of the solution?An interview with David Goldberg, one of the authors of “Growing Cooler” appears (ironically) on the website www.climateandinsurance.org. Goldberg says, “For the last 15 or so years, researchers across the country have been exploring the links between the way we develop our cities, the amount of driving we do and the effect that the extra miles of driving has on everything from air quality to exercise levels … “Most of the discussion about reducing carbon from automobiles has focused on fuel efficiency and a potential for lower-carbon fuels, two legs of the stool. However, the potential gains from those technological improvements would be overwhelmed by the rapid growth in the sheer number of miles we all drive%26#8212; the third leg of the stool.

“The Hartford’s plan is so 20th century, out of step even with its own industry.Goldberg again: “If we are … to start building in ways that allow us to do more while emitting less disaster-generating carbon, it will be because key players like the insurance industry insist upon it.”The Hartford will undoubtedly argue that it is just these results that their plan will accomplish, but that just doesn’t wash. More enlightened Hartford insurance companies have made a deliberate decision to grow in a different way, principally by charging for parking, but also by more heavily subsidizing transit for employees, as well as providing incentives for telecommuting. Travelers has been doing this for years. Aetna has embarked on a multiyear plan to reduce the number of its even as it brings 3,000 more employees back to its headquarters, also in Asylum Hill. It is consolidating its parking in garages and selling off its surface parking lots to reduce annual expenses associated with Hartford parking facilities. Aetna has discovered what author Donald Shoup demonstrated in his 2005 book “The High Cost of Free Parking”: Free parking is not free. Where is The Hartford’s business head on this? We %26#8212; and they %26#8212; cannot afford their plan.

Instead of looking at Asylum Hill as “a congested urban neighborhood,” as a press release put it, The Hartford should look at it as an opportunity for “walkable urbanism,” in Christopher Leinberger’s phrase. Leinberger, a real estate developer and a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, distinguishes “drivable sub-urban” development %26#8212; which is essentially what The Hartford proposes %26#8212; from “region-serving walkable urbanism,” as demonstrated by many New Urbanism downtown-revitalization and transit-oriented development projects (of which West Hartford’s Blue Back Square is the best local example). Surely, if it can happen near West Hartford Center on vacant automobile dealership property, it can happen on a 16-acre site on the edge of downtown Hartford where there are already 10,000 jobs, and where rail facilities and fine historic architecture already exist.

Sure, The Hartford should buy the MassMutual site. But save much of the building, perhaps by putting the school in it, and institute %26#8212; right now %26#8212; the kind of 21st-century disincentives to driving that start with charging for parking and more heavily subsidizing transit for employees, and end with developing the site more densely as mixed-use walkable urbanism. Such an approach would give employees exercise, provide some of them with housing, save the company money, revitalize Asylum Hill and Hartford, and above all reduce driving. And please, save the numerous that cover the site. Unless the company does these things, its invocation of the city’s Hartford 2010 plan for the Farmington-Asylum “trident” will be seen as the cynical fig leaf that it is. Because instead of doing their city a favor, they are putting Hartford “out of position,” as Leinberger calls it.

And the company’s claims of corporate social responsibility will be a joke.Toni Gold of Hartford is a private consultant and a senior associate with Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit whose mission is to create and sustain public places that build communities. She is a member of the boards of 1,000 Friends of Connecticut and of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and writes regularly for The Courant’s Place section.

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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Landscaping Design No Comments

For Hartford

Hartford, which Henry James once called “the richest little city in the country,” has become one of the poorest of municipalities. Connecticut’s capital doesn’t need more social services, low-income housing or pity; it needs more business. As Sen. Christopher J. Dodd has said, a job is the best social program.

Moving into 2008, Mayor Eddie A. Perez should have one goal underpinning the city’s agenda: economic development.

This will require a change in focus and management style on his part. He has jumped into everything from school building to public works to police. Perhaps he had to. But he now has department heads who can do those jobs. He should let Chief Operating Officer Lee C. Erdmann, Chief of Police Daryl K. Roberts, school Superintendent Steven J. Adamowski and others manage the day-to-day operations.

The Short List
Think regionally as a way to attract jobs and stop harmful competition among municipalities. Explore ways to cooperate with surrounding towns on public %26#8212; including education %26#8212; and economic development.Develop mass transit to create a more desirable work and entertainment hub. Look for ways to connect expanded transit opportunities with development.Improve the relationship with the state to boost development and continue joint projects.Revamp the school system by supporting dynamic initiatives by Superintendent Steven J. Adamowski, which will eventually build the city’s workforce and increase the city’s attractiveness as a place to work and live. Use tax policy to encourage the highest use of land. With buildings taxed at a higher rate than land, there’s a perverse incentive to leave lots empty. Reverse this and watch the city grow.

 

Mr. Perez should put his imagination and energy to best use building the local economy and getting Hartford residents involved in it. He cannot, like a modern King Canute, command the tides of international commerce that buffet the city’s largest businesses. But a focused approach in areas where he can make a difference could reward the mayor and all residents with new economic activity and would reduce the city’s mind-numbing 32 percent poverty rate.

These include:

%26#8226; Thinking regionally. Hartford has spent too much time battling with suburban towns over where various companies would set up shop. The metropolitan region is the economic unit of the future. If we acted like a united region instead of a Balkanized one, we’d have some kind of agreement %26#8212; perhaps with revenue-sharing %26#8212; that would send companies to wherever it made the most sense for them to be (rather than letting communities bribe them with lucre).

Other than the stalwart MetroHartford Alliance, few have taken a regional approach to economic development. Perhaps it won’t happen until there’s meaningful property-tax reform, which requires state help. But it’s worth getting in a room and trying.

The Park To Park joint marketing effort between the Parkville section of Hartford and Park Road in West Hartford is a small but meaningful step in the right direction.

%26#8226; Redefining the relationship with the state. A prosperous capital city is in everyone’s best interest. The state could redefine the Capital City Economic Development Authority, which built the Connecticut Convention Center and other Six Pillars projects, so that the state can remain involved and investing in development projects. Right now CCDEA is limited to acting as owner, for the state, of the convention center, a small utility plant and some 3,000 . The state and city could work together, for example, to produce an arts corridor running from the Capitol to Main Street. The state could also bring back to the city some of its jobs now in office parks along I-91. No, this wouldn’t bring more taxes to city coffers, but it would bring more feet onto Hartford’s streets and more supporting businesses.

A strong partnership also would ensure that state job-training programs correspond to actual jobs %26#8212; sometimes an issue %26#8212; and that inmates coming out of prisons have employment opportunities so they don’t end up in homeless shelters in Hartford, New Haven and other cities. Mr. Perez has sometimes had a contentious relationship with state officials. That is counterproductive; the state ought to be his new best friend.

%26#8226; Developing mass-transit opportunities. The state is finally beginning to encourage development around transit stops. Seize the opportunity for mixed-income housing around Hartford’s Union Station. With the clubs and restaurants already there, it’s important to efforts to establish better commuter rail service and to develop a busway on target.

This could be a hot neighborhood for young professionals. Establishing convenient, frequent transportation is essential to allowing workers to move easily to jobs in the city or suburbs. The city should also push as hard as it can for high-speed rail service to New York and eventually to Boston. That would change Hartford for the better.

%26#8226; Supporting school initiatives. Keep up the momentum in redefining the way city schools work to help all students reach state academic goals. The city should support Mr. Adamowski’s plans to divide high school students into smaller academies and to reconstitute schools that fall short. Students should see graduation from high school as a minimum step and, in most cases, should follow Mr. Perez’s goal of going on to higher education. For prospective employers, having an education system that graduates students ready to join the workforce is vital. For economic and , a strong school system is crucial.

%26#8226; Using tax policy to encourage highest use of land. As is clear to anyone walking through downtown Hartford, there are too many empty spaces. Too much of this historic and attractive city has been sacrificed for surface parking. If downtown is to again achieve a healthy urban density, those spaces have to be filled.

One way to encourage that result would be a change in how are levied. At present, the city taxes buildings at a much higher rate than it taxes land. This has encouraged owners to tear down buildings to save on tax bills %26#8212; and it is one reason The Hartford is considering razing the former MassMutual building for a parking lot. Perhaps it might reconsider, if the city changed its policy so that the land is more heavily taxed, as has been done in Harrisburg and some other Pennsylvania cities. This motivates developers to get the most out of their property by building on it.

Mr. Perez previously supported a split-rate property tax system in which land could be taxed at a higher rate than buildings. He should do so again. Perhaps a slide show of the Parkview Hilton, Mad Murphy’s and other buildings torn down to save taxes might help sell the idea.

Restoring Hartford to be the city that drew such high praise from Henry James requires a sustained effort. There is no one big-bang project that will transform the city. A 10-member panel of experts from the Urban Land Institute, a that specializes in land-use policy, visited Hartford early last fall and reinforced that point. The group suggested dropping the idea for a new sports arena and instead recommended revamping the XL Center (formerly the Hartford Civic Center). A new arena would be nice, but the energy and resources needed to build it would be better used on other projects that draw the city and region together.

The institute panel recommended building a linear park across the North End, from Albany Avenue and Main Street east to the Connecticut River. Such a park, which recalls the “rain of parks” proposal a century ago to surround downtown with parks and parkways, would improve the ambience of that part of downtown.

Even as Mr. Perez works on the big pieces of the economic puzzle, there are other ideas that will contribute to sustaining Hartford’s :

%26#8226; Reusing brownfields. Adriaen’s Landing, the Learning Corridor and other projects in the city %26#8212; as well as major projects around the state such as Blue Back Square in West Hartford and the Pfizer research center in New London %26#8212; were made possible because the sites of these developments were cleaned of contaminants. Removing the residue of earlier uses is an essential step in the reuse of the built environment %26#8212; a requisite of smart growth. Hartford has remediation projects in progress at a few sites, including Front Street. The city should appoint a brownfield coordinator who could go after funds and otherwise move an aggressive program to clean up more development sites.

%26#8226; Going green. In addition to developing a comprehensive green plan for buildings, vehicles and other facilities, Mr. Perez and the city council should lead an effort to attract green businesses. This is a burgeoning, $341-billion-a-year industry, which includes manufacturing with recycled materials, installing solar panels and green roofs, and sustainable landscaping. Somebody’s going to grab the “green collar” jobs, which, as Trenton, N.J., Mayor Douglas Palmer recently told USA Today, have potential to move people out of poverty.

%26#8226; Developing events. The city needs to work with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Arts Council to develop a first-class special events operation. Cities are about excitement, spontaneity, imagination. Hartford needs to broaden its entertainment options.

%26#8226; Creating a retail incubator. Downtown still lacks an adequate retail base. Many retailers are reluctant to locate there, uncertain whether the is worth the risk. Downtown housing is filling up, helping on that front. What if the city could also lower the risk to businesses?

An idea being tried in some communities around the country, called a retail incubator, puts a lot of small retailers in the same building, where they can share costs and customers.

%26#8226; Developing around hospitals. It is incredible that there are a few empty buildings around the Hartford Hospital campus. The city and state must do a better job of leveraging the presence of great medical institutions into more economic activity.

%26#8226; Getting Westbrook Village right. The aged housing project near the University of Hartford needs renewal. If it were developed as a multiuse university village, it would be a boon to the school and the Upper Albany/Blue Hills neighborhoods.

This list is not exhaustive. In a real sense, everything government does should be geared toward economic development. Government is there to create the environment %26#8212; with security, utilities, roads, public art and amenities, %26#8212; in which workers and companies can prosper. Government is not a substitute for work; government is an enabler of work. Mr. Perez must make it clear that this is what Hartford is after.

What will success look like? For several years, various officials have tried to portray chain pharmacies and doughnut shops as economic development. Those are fine %26#8212; except when historic buildings are demolished to make way for them %26#8212; but they aren’t the high-impact commerce the city needs. Businesses that increase exports, create good jobs, pay real taxes %26#8212; that’s Hartford’s goal for 2008.

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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Landscaping Design No Comments

First residents take occupancy at Florencia at The Colony Real_Estate Naples Daily News

The first residents have moved into their luxury Sky Homes at the newly-completed Florencia luxury tower within The Colony Golf %26 Bay Club by WCI Communities, an 809-acre gated waterfront community in Bonita Springs.

The tower has 116 Sky Homes and resort-style amenities. Residences include screened terraces providing views of Estero Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, natural preserve areas, a lake and a Jerry Pate-designed golf course.

Florencia is limited to six residences per floor. Each Sky Home has a private elevator lobby and separate service elevator and entry. Also included are two per residence in a controlled access sub-building garage, along with and climate controlled resident storage areas. Additional guest and service parking is also provided.

Indoor tower include a grand salon with fireplace and fountain views, social room with billiards area, bar, wireless Internet access, two 50-inch plasma televisions, theater with tiered seating, projection screen and bar, business center, fitness center, two furnished guest suites, and a manager’s residence.

The tower’s outdoor include a cascading at the entry and two fountains on the landscaped garden deck, a heated swimming pool and jetted spa overlooking the lake and golf course, open-air pavilion with bar, two 45-inch outdoor televisions, wireless Internet access, shade cabanas, furnished sun deck, barbecue area, and restroom facilities.

Florencia residents also have use of the Bay Club private waterfront dining facility, a beach park, Signature Services Concierge, the Pelican Landing community center, canoe park, tennis courts and tennis pro shop. Membership opportunities are also available at The Colony Golf %26 Country Club.

Six Florencia floor plans are offered. The three-bedroom plus den with three baths, three bedrooms with three baths, and a two-bedroom plus den, 2.5-bath designs range from 2,451 to 3,276 total square feet. Prices range from $695,000 to $1.45 million.

Four designer-furnished models are open for viewing. The two-bedroom plus den and three-bedroom plus den furnished models are priced ranging from $1,170,000 to $1,357,000.

The Colony Golf %26 Bay Club features luxury towers, custom estates, villas and mid-rise towers priced from the $600s to more than $5 million. The sales center is at 3480 Pelican Colony Blvd.

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Wednesday, December 26th, 2007

Garden Landscaping No Comments

Naples parking garage condo project moves forward Local Naples Daily News

Designers of a downtown Naples building project can move forward with their plans but received no approval Tuesday.

Submitted rendering

Click to see a larger version of this proposed parking garage and residential complex for Fourth Avenue South and Fourth Street South in downtown Naples.

Instead, members of the Fifth Avenue South Action Committee came to a consensus that Fourth and Fourth Associates, LLC, was on the right track with a 22-unit condominium project and parking garage on Fourth Avenue South and Fourth Street South. The panel said the firm should return in the next few weeks with a more complete design.

“I cannot conceptually approve these. The plans are riddled with errors, I couldn’t even find the floors until you pointed them out,” said Bill Willkomm, Fifth Avenue South Action Commitee chairman. “I don’t want to vote against you, (but) if it comes to a vote, I have to vote against you.”

Naples attorney John Passidomo said he didn’t want the conceptual design to pass with dissenting votes, and asked that the committee come to a consensus instead.

“All we want to do is stay on track,” Passidomo said.

Fifth Avenue South Action Commitee vice chairwoman Gloria Kovacs said she didn’t have a problem with the conceptual designs.

“Basically we’re saying you’re going in the right direction,” she said.

The project has hit its fair share of roadblocks, Community Development Director Robin Singer said.

While City Council received the project plans favorably, Singer said developers were asked to return to the drawing board after original plans didn’t meet with elevation requirements, since a portion of the garage was underground.

The only difference in the most recent plans is the elevation, Passidomo said.

In the revised plans, the first two floors of the building are reserved for parking, while the condos will be built on the top two floors. Under the revised plans, the building will be about 42 feet tall, compared to the 48 feet originally planned.

The previous plans for the property, designated for a parking garage since 1994, were pulled in January in part because of complaints from residents in neighboring communities.

Tuesday, Anita Yehuda sent Fifth Avenue South Action Commitee members a letter asking them to postpone discussion until a later date.

“Since the proportions of the building have been dramatically changed from the submitted plan in August, the drawings which have been submitted do not accurately reflect the new plans,” Yehuda wrote in the letter. “It is submitted that FASAC cannot properly assess the building, even on a ‘conceptual’ basis (especially from a design/landscaping point of view), unless the plans accurately reflect the new proposed height of the building.”

Yehuda further said discussion should be halted because residents of Kensington Gardens, a 12-unit condo community on the east side of the property, had only received plans Monday evening. Yehuda submitted her letter on behalf of the Kensington Gardens Condominium Association.

Passidomo said he understood that the proposal still needed input from the public.

The design isn’t the only hurdle face. The property needs to be rezoned from R3-12, a residential multifamily designation, to planned development because of the number of residences and the parking garage that will have more than 150 in it, and will be open for public use.

The project is expected to go before the city’s Planning Advisory Board on Oct. 10 before City Council approves any rezoning requests during its November meeting.

Passidomo said he hopes to bring the design back to the action committee before the November council meeting. The committee has final approval when it comes to the building’s design, Singer said.

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Wednesday, December 26th, 2007

Garden Landscaping No Comments

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