Inside Third & Bond: Week 141

The Third & Bond blogger/developers give an update on their streetscape enhancements…When we took over the parcels that have become Third + Bond, they housed either vacant lots or industrial buildings. The sidewalk along the property was wide and treeless. It was more akin to the industrial sidewalks of Gowanus than the residential sidewalks of Carroll Gardens. Our plans to transform the sidewalk were long ago put to paper but only in the last few months put to pavement. We introduced four street trees and eight landscaped front yards. We’ll save the yards for another posting since street trees are a curious enough part of the regulation process.

The guidelines for street trees are put out by the City Department of Parks and Recreation but our plan is first reviewed by the Department of Transportation when we submit our Builder’s Pavement Plan. (See Week 85.) We are required to plant 1 tree per 25′ or so of building frontage. But then there are distance limitations constraining how many of those trees can actually go into the ground. Each tree has to be 25′ from a streetlight, 30′ from a stop sign, 6′ from other traffic signs, 20′-40′ from other trees depending species, 5′ from a hydrant to edge of a tree pit, no where within a bus stop, etc. So while we were required to plant 10 trees, we could only fit in 4. What happens to the other 6?

There are two options…

…We can plant 6 trees in areas designated by the Parks Department. These areas will be within a near vicinity of the project, ensuring that we are contributing to the leafiness of the same neighborhood if not the same strip of sidewalk. The other option is to pay a fee to the Parks Department for each tree. For our Far Rockaway project, Oceanview Villas II, we planted the extra neighborhood
trees. Parks told us where the tree pits were and what to plant. For Third + Bond, we are opting to pay the fee in lieu of planted trees. It’s almost $2,000 per tree. That’s $12,000 to the City for trees that we have to plant based on their rules but can’t plant on our property due to their rules. And, of course, they tell us exactly what to plant.

Our first permit for Third + Bond listed Ginko trees which we weren’t too wild about. They aren’t native and some varieties produce stinky seeds. So we asked Parks if in conjunction with our green building approach, they could reassign trees that are only native. No problem. Our second permit listed an option of Northern Red Oak or White Oak for 3 of the trees and Eastern Redbud or Serviceberry for the 4th tree. Another constraint on street trees is the planting season. Trees are to be planted when they are dormant to minimize shock on their system. The spring season is March 15 to May 15. The autumn season is October 15 to December 1. You can’t get a permit from Parks outside of these times nor an inspection. Since a signed-off inspection is part of getting the Builder’s Pavement Plan signed off, it’s good to play by the planting rules. Nicer for the trees, too.

An arborist gave us this rule of thumb for trees: the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap. Look out 2012! It’ll be a jungle out there.

Facebook: Third + Bond Twitter: Thirdbond
www.thirdandbond.com

Our legal fine print: The complete offering terms are in an Offering Plan available from Sponsor. File No. CD080490. Sponsor: Hudson Third LLC, 826 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.