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The Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) has selected Arborwell, Castro Valley, Calif., as the recipient of the 2005 Excellence in Arboriculture Award for its work on the Santana Row project in San Jose, Calif. This prestigious award is in recognition to the preservation of trees during the construction of Santana Row, a premier living, shopping and entertainment property. TCIA’s panel of judges selected the Santana Row project for the outstanding preservation design, relocation planning and maintenance of trees during the construction of the downtown urban development site. The TCIA Awards Program recognizes companies and their projects for pruning, preservation and outstanding business practices in the professional tree care industry.
Santana Row took its name from Santana Park – a nearby public park with several open green spaces, rich landscape and hundreds of trees. The Santana Row site plans were carefully designed to create a unique urban environment that incorporated many details of the park while preserving and rescuing many of the old-growth trees from the demolished Town & Country shopping center site. During the initial clearing of the site, Arborwell was able to save 14 40-year-old oak trees and 26 palm trees from destruction and give them new homes at Santana Row.
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“We are very pleased that TCIA has recognized one of our clients for their leading edge tree preservation work,” says Arborwell President Peter Sortwell. “This was a joint effort between Arborwell and Santana Row in planning and execution. The fruits of our labor have created a public space that has a natural beauty combined with a functional urban environment.” The award was received at TCIA’s 2005 EXPO, held this year in Columbus, Ohio.
According to information provided by Arborwell, there were some challenges on the project. For instance, the tree work was restricted from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. because the site is both residential and commercial. Additionally, arborists had to work in a very close environment with up to 1,500 other contract laborers during the course of the project. Safety and crowd-control issues were of high importance as the crews worked with numerous types of motor vehicles, aerial forklifts, backhoes, etc., in their effors to maintain the health and vigor or the trees during the chaotic construction period.
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Overall, only one tree was left in the ground throughout construction and had to be protected during the project. Other trees were removed from the site and replanted as long as 18 months after construction began. The transplanted trees now provide the central pivot around which the Santana Row community was built.
Arborwell says this type of high-density development is a good example for future urban renewal projects that can still accommodate the aesthetic and functional benefits of trees. Care on the site has been continuous for two years. Work has included pest and disease control and the maintenance of soil moisture and nutrient levels.