420 Church St. | 9-Story Residential

[jrs2]

^^

it is a shame.  I weep for those oaks.  I've turned into a real tree hugger the last few years.

 

I'm all about development, but, damn, isn't the main reason north I-Drive is so ugly because there aren't any trees to speak of compared to south of SLR?  Same with Fairbanks and Lee Rd.  You would think...

 

As for 420, well, then lets get it built- but we need more trees...everywhere.

 

The City spent all that $$$ on the arts sculptures.  How about some $$$ for more trees downtown...like about a hundred of them?

[jgardnerucf]

Bamboo!

[alex]

 

The City spent all that $$$ on the arts sculptures.  How about some $$$ for more trees downtown...like about a hundred of them?

 

"Over the past five years, the City has...planted 10,000 trees and established four community gardens." http://www.cityoforlando.net/greenworks

[FLheat]

^^

As for 420, well, then lets get it built- but we need more trees grass...everywhere.

[nite owℓ]

"Over the past five years, the City has...planted 10,000 trees and established four community gardens." http://www.cityoforlando.net/greenworks

 

As residents, we can also get involved in greening-up our own neighborhoods as well. Homeowners can have the city plant a free tree in the Right of Way (the grassy area between the sidewalk and street). And I'm sure renters could work something out with their landlords. You just have to pledge to water and maintain it until established. The type of tree depends on whether there are any power lines in the area; shorter trees for areas with power lines and taller trees for areas without power lines.

 

I chose the Japanese Blueberry (Elaeocarpus). The live oaks in my old neighborhood have been falling down left and right and unfortunately no one is concerned about replacing them.

 

http://www.cityoforlando.net/parks/tree-types/

http://www.cityoforlando.net/parks/trees/

Edited June 6, 2014 by nite owℓ

[jack]

That sucks. And you know the "trees" that the cheese-bag developer replaces them with will be some scrawny little crap trees that never grow into anything.

 

Shame.

Every project is required to have trees in the ROW. The ones selected are from a list the City provides. If you have a problem with the trees, blame the City or FDOT. 

[JFW657]

Every project is required to have trees in the ROW. The ones selected are from a list the City provides. If you have a problem with the trees, blame the City or FDOT. 

 

No thanks.

 

I think I'll continue to blame the developer & the landscape architect who selects them.

[aent]

No thanks.

 

I think I'll continue to blame the developer & the landscape architect who selects them.

 

Even though the said landscape architect typically works for the city? The DOT has a fear of tree roots growing under roads, so at this point, its near impossible to get a large tree in a ROW. It keeps getting worse.

[nite owℓ]

Some of those scrawny little oak trees actually grow into a nice shade tree once they mature. The City also wants to make sure the tree roots don't clog sewer pipes (we recently had a blockage and it wasn't pretty), or grow too tall which will require harsh trimming so they won't interfere with the power lines (as seen along Constitution Green on South St).

[jack]

No thanks.

 

I think I'll continue to blame the developer & the landscape architect who selects them.

That confuses me. It's their fault for not trying hard enough to change FDOT and the City's rules? 

[RedStar25]

Right, lets blame the developer while begging for new development. Good luck with that. 

[JFW657]

You guys are reading way too much into what I said. Or not enough.

 

I wasn't suggesting that they should replace those huge old oaks with the exact same kind, so that 30 years from now, they'd be just like the ones that are there now. But I have seen a tendency for a lot of new buildings that go up around here, as well as shopping center parking lots, to utilize these absurd, sad little excuses for "trees" just to fulfill the requirement that something that can be legally described as a "tree", be be included in the design.

 

For example... the "trees" in this pic from Florida Hospital Orlando campus, were planted in early 2008 & have been there ever since.

 

Seriously... what was the point???

 

 

This is what I was **SARCASTICALLY** referring to.

 

'Kay? 

[smileguy]

I think a good example locally of a developer doing it "right" are the trees used for the Mills Park parking lot. I know it's a different context than a street tree, but they spent some money on quality with a vision for the future, instead of meeting minimum requirements.  Rollins also regularly uses more mature trees on it's campus, with the crepe myrtles they put in at the new Interlachen Ave. entrance being typical of that. 

[jack]

I would reckon that there is something wrong with those trees. I am not an LA, but they should be bigger in 6 years. 

 

The real issue is not the tree type, but rather the age of the trees. You will not get a passionate defense of spindly trees from me. But I know from experience, the trees (and landscape budget in general) start out larger and get VE'd before the end of the project. 

[JFW657]

I would reckon that there is something wrong with those trees. I am not an LA, but they should be bigger in 6 years. 

 

The real issue is not the tree type, but rather the age of the trees. You will not get a passionate defense of spindly trees from me. But I know from experience, the trees (and landscape budget in general) start out larger and get VE'd before the end of the project. 

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with them. They get fertilized & maintained like the rest of the landscaping. They are just el-cheapo dwarf trees that were stuck in the ground to fulfill a particular design requirement &, as you said, save money.

 

Which is exactly what I'm hoping doesn't happen with this project, but that the cynic in me says very possibly might.

 

BTW, the trees in that pic don't have bare branches like that all the time. That pic was probably taken during winter. But even in mid summer, with all the branches in bloom, they are still scrawny & pathetic.

[jrs2]

^^

My God, were those oaks?  I had oaks that size planted in front of my TH in back in '05.  3 years later they provided some shade.  Today, they are 3+ stories tall (or 4+) and their trunks are maybe a foot in diameter.  Maybe its the soil?  Amount of water?  Dunno.  Maybe there's a sprinkler pipe leak where I live that's been feeding these things.

[corpkid]

The tree in front of my unit looked like that back in 2005.  It's now almost as tall as our 4-story building (Eola South).  It's getting quite big (as are the other 5 they planted along S. Eola), but for some reason the one in front of our unit is growing like crazy!  Those are pathetic for 6 years.  

[Jernigan]

So has work begun yet?

[Jernigan]

Looks like they are working on getting their fence plan approved. Had problems with driveway sight distance as recently as today

[gibby]

They installed their silt fence yesterday.  Looks like construction is basically underway.

[gibby]

Construction fence is up and they were taking down the trees today when I walked by.  Kinda tough to watch those oaks coming down

[jrs2]

^^

I'll make sure to avoid that part of town for a couple of weeks.  I just can't bear to see that.  It was hard enough to see the aftermath of Charley in 2004 in Winter Park where it looked like every oak in the city came down.

 

I still can't believe how quickly this is getting built.

Edited June 19, 2014 by jrs2

[Jernigan]

ha I see what you mean but man if Citi gets started...I'll be out there tailgating and cheering on the workers haha. Love that this is all coming together

[jrs2]

^^

Yeah, me too.  those two buildings together will add an incredible amount of mass to Eola South and literally connect the developed area contiguously from Star Tower to Central Ave.  It will be awesome.

 

Too bad 101 Eola's twin was never built to the south.  That was moderately sized and would have given good density to the neighborhood.

[Cleaver5]

I drove by just now and work is fully underway. BUT, I am hopeful that some of the trees may stay. It seems like the ones closest to the sidewalk MIGHT be spared.

I am very excited about this project and have my fingers crossed for the Citi tower. It will bring such great density to the neighborhood and hopefully some retail and more restaurants and activity.

I'll post pictures when there is something interesting to see. Right now, it is just a bunch of cut up trees.