We’re excited to share about a big project that our team is so proud to be a part of in North Downtown Omaha. We’re bringing the benefit and stately beauty of planetrees right to the heart of the city – with an approach that goes to great lengths to support healthy tree growth. In fact, it’s the first time it’s been done here in Omaha. With a unique, underground system that maximize root growth, these trees will be a part of our community for a long, long time.
Cover photo by Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture
Millwork Commons
Millwork Commons is a new community-development project – led by Black Dog Management in partnership with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture and Olsson, Inc. – that’s taking place across 50 acres at 13th and Nicholas Street in North Downtown Omaha. In the 1880’s, this area was an active economic hub and home to a vibrant millwork and furniture-making industry. In that tradition of hard work and innovation, Millworks Commons is being redeveloped as a space for today’s visionaries in art, technology, and design. In this community, you’ll find a diverse and inspiring mix of housing spaces, unique businesses, and places to relax and connect with others.
Of course, natural elements like trees, shrubs, and blooms are an important part of a comfortable and healthy place to live, and with the renovations will come plantings inspired by our local landscapes of the Great Plains. As part of the initial phases of the Millwork Commons project, our team is planting a line of trees along Millwork Avenue, next to the historic Ashton Building.
Photo by Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture
The Value Trees Bring
Trees bring significant value to urban settings. As pointed out by GreenBlue Urban, an urban development firm dedicated to supporting sustainable cities, a tree’s lush canopy of green foliage provides cooling shade, reduces noise, cleans pollutants from the air, and mitigates that wind-tunnel effect that tall buildings can create. As a result, folks living near tree-lined streets enjoy fewer instances of skin cancer, less stress, less asthma, and a cooler, more pleasant environment to live and work in compared to urban areas with no trees. In addition, urban trees create a sense of identity and belonging for its residents that leads to greater community cohesion, fewer instances of crime, and even better driving habits. There’s almost nothing about living in an urban environment that isn’t improved by the presence of trees.
But in turn, we’re asking a lot of a tree when we plant it in an urban setting – standing in the glare of a tall building, surrounded on all sides by hot, impermeable concrete. Compared to a natural environment, city life offers hotter temperatures, compacted soils, inadequate water, and a reduced capacity for healthy root growth. If city residents are going to enjoy the full benefit of a tree’s presence in the community, the tree has to survive and thrive for years to come. To help these trees live a long, healthy life, we’re using Rootspace Soil Cells – an innovative underground system that creates a protected, supportive area of healthy soil for roots to grow within a highly engineered, urban environment.
Photo on the left by Cultivar413
A Novel Planting Approach
Developed by GreenBlue Urban, Rootspace Soil Cells are a series of strong, interlocking grates that form an open, underground container where an urban tree is given a large volume of aerated, uncompacted soil – perfect for healthy root growth.
It all starts with the excavation. Imagine a planting hole that’s 4’ deep and 10’ wide by 20’ long. As a part of the entire system, perforated drain tile is first installed to improve drainage, and after the large, cage-like structure is built, impermeable vertical plates are added to prevent roots from venturing under the street. After the surrounding concrete is poured and the trees are later planted in a smaller opening, a grid at the base of the tree allows air to circulate and interact with the roots.
Our team has already installed the Rootspace Soil Cell system for five trees at the site on Millwork Avenue. As soon as utility and concrete work is finished in the area, we’ll be ready to plant the trees in their urban, tree-friendly home.
Nature Working in our Community
It’s our passion to improve life in our urban community by engaging the beauty and environmental benefits that plants provide in our built spaces. That’s why we’re so proud to be a part of these exciting efforts at Millwork Commons, and we hope when it’s all finished, you’ll visit this new community hub to see for yourself.
Photo by Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture
