402 West Navarre Street_AA 2024-0703A

Home Browse Search

Poledor House I Botany Proposal, Spring 2024 The Poledor house will receive native landscaping surrounding the house at its new location in Summer of 2024 as phase 1 for the property landscape. This summer planting will include the front yard, backyard, east and west side yards, and the southern corner of the property. The map on pg 2 shows phase 1 zones in purple. In each section, the landscape will include drought hardy perennial natives with seasonal flowering interest from May -October. These natives will require minimal maintenance once established and will become a vibrant ecosystem full of beauty upon maturity. By using native plants as the landscape, the property requires minimal water to maintain the gardens, minimal time invested in maintaining the space and minimal input to maintain the plant's health. All of these factors make native landscaping an opportunity to bring beauty to a portion of the Portage corridor in a sustainable manner. The east and west side yards will be planted with perennial flowers to offer multi season interest and tall bunch grasses to give some visual distinction between the Poledor house and the neighboring house. These grasses will also discourage foot traffic from cutting through the lot, encouraging people to use the main sidewalks instead. The south triangle portion of the property will have tall bunch grasses and mixed bushes offering seasonal inter- est which will double as a visual barrier to minimize foot traffic cutting through and add a privacy screen from Portage Avenue. The backyard, between the main house and driveway, will be the only location with a traditional lawn, giving the new homeowners a space that can handle high impact foot traffic for pets and children to play. Phase 1 Native Planting Total sq ft: 4,760 sq ft Total project cost: $17,000 Phase 1 Traditional Lawn Total sq ft: to be determined Total project cost: to be determined Phase 2: Phase two proposes transitioning the large tree lawns on Portage avenue and Navarre Street from lawn to native plant community. These high maintenance spaces require weekly intervention and costly inputs of time and equipment to maintain the lawn at a reasonable height. Botany proposes trading these high input landscape spaces with low maintenance native plant communities. These native plant communities will thrive with min- imal intervention once established, only requiring a once a year cut back and selective weeding in the spring season. These tree lawns will be planted using plants that adhere to city code, staying under 18" in height so as not to create a visual barrier for passing cars. This section of the Portage corridor will be a great opportunity to bring beauty to the landscape and cheerful color to a portion of the corridor that otherwise has minimal curb appeal and is lost in a sea of boring green lawn. This corridor gives pedestrians walking from the neighborhood to downtown a public park to admire along the way and engage with their local ecosystem. Portage Tree Lawn Sq ft: 3,920 Cost: $14,700 Navarre Tree Lawn Sq ft: 780 Cost: $3,300