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Oakland Park Developer Preserves Trees, Earns 'Green' Certification
Jerry W. Jackson
Sentinel Staff Writer
Orlando Sentinel, June 15, 2007
A sprawling live oak weighing more than 50 tons was carefully uprooted and moved Thursday by Castle & Cooke Florida to a special spot within a new development it is building in west Orange County.
The tree is the largest of dozens of oaks the developer is moving to preserve as work begins on the community, called Oakland Park.
If the giant tree survives the transplant as expected, it will become the focal point of a shady community park, said Matthew Bullion, Castle & Cooke's project manager. The company moved the tree about a quarter of a mile to save it, rather than bulldoze it to make room for a home, Bullion said.
"One like this takes a long time to grow," Raul Guzman said as he supervised the tree-moving process for Valley Crest landscaping company.
A giant crane lifted the more than 60-foot-tall oak onto a flatbed truck for a slow ride to the shore of Lake Brim, a small pond on the property.
The subdivision is the first in Central Florida to earn certification as an environmentally friendly "green" community by the nonprofit Florida Green Building Coalition.
Robin Vieira, director of building research for the Florida Solar Energy Center and a board member of the Green Building Coalition, said Oakland Park's development plan is strong in many ways, including planned restoration of land along Lake Apopka and the preservation of trees.
In terms of the points needed to earn the nonprofit group's green certification, Oakland Park "maxed out in that [tree] category," Vieira said. "At least 80 percent of their streets will be shaded with native trees."
Guzman said he has probably moved 1,500 trees during his career. Many newer communities in Central Florida, such as Baldwin Park, Reunion Resort and Sugarloaf Mountain, are spending thousands of dollars these days -- an average of about $12,000 a tree -- to relocate valuable specimens.
Trees add value to a development, said Bob Hennen, sales director for Oakland Park. The nearby town of Oakland, where part of the community is located, is known for its regal oaks.
But trees are valuable in a lot of other ways, said Rob Northrop, an urban forester with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Trees are getting more respect because people better understand their benefits, from scientific to social. Yet far more needs to be done to save them, he said, especially in cities and suburbs.
"They remove air pollutants that cause asthma and other diseases, and they remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change. They do that in a way that's very inexpensive," Northrop said. "These are living things cleaning the air."
Trees also produce shade that cools homes and extend the life of streets and roads. They reduce water runoff and perform other services, but their greatest benefit, he said, is the connection that trees have with people, culture and communities.
"Socially, we love them," he said. "Kids play in them; people stop to stand under them and talk to their neighbors. And I think their longevity really touches people. Things just move and change so fast these days, but trees give you a sense of permanence and place."
Oakland Mayor Kathy Stark, who has two towering oaks in her yard, said Castle & Cooke deserves credit for being tree friendly.
"We have a lot of beautiful oak trees. It makes us what we are," Stark said. "I was really pleased that they're trying to preserve the oak trees and weave them into the fabric of the community," though the oaks being moved are technically in neighboring Winter Garden's side of the development.
Sales in Oakland Park, where home prices start in the $400,000s, are scheduled to begin next month from an office now under construction on tree-shaded Oakland Avenue.
Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5721.
Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel
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