DUDEK - Lennar Corporation

Lennar Corporation Tackles Nation’s Largest Tree Relocation Project

Challenge: Working to develop a portion of the closed U.S. Marine Corps base into one of the country’s largest urban parks, Lennar Corporation set out to preserve the base’s trees as a smart, cost-effective way to enhance the environmental value of the site and to leverage the economic value of mature trees.

Project Scope: Dudek served as the project’s arboricultural consultant, surveying the number of trees and species, inspecting the trees for good health, ensuring the trees are properly boxed and relocated, and ensuring the trees are cared for before, during and after relocation.

Resolution: Working with the City of Irvine-formed Great Park Corporation, Lennar Corporation is converting the closed U.S. Marine Corps Air Station El Toro into one of the largest urban parks in history. Lennar, which bought the air station property, donated per a city-initiated land use agreement approximately 1,400 of its 4,000-acre purchase to establish the Orange County Great Park.

The park, which will include a hot air balloon pavilion, sports park, veteran’s memorial, botanical garden, cultural terrace, wildlife corridor and agricultural reserve, will be populated by nearly 90,000 trees – 2,200 of which are being acquired through a $3 million preservation effort led by Dudek. To accomplish this task, Lennar enlisted Dudek to:

Assess which of the site’s approximately 8,000 trees are suitable for relocation. This involves determining the trees’ health and ensuring the trees do not interfere with structures such as water lines, power lines and building foundations.
Develop a tree management plan.
Note the trees’ species.
Coordinate with the landscape designers to verify the trees are compatible with their plans.

The 60-year-old trees including pines, palms, peppers, jacarandas and oaks will cost between $10,000 and $40,000 per tree to move. These costs include surveying, moving, general care and replanting. Moving some of the larger oaks and pines is proving to be difficult, as these 30+ foot species require cranes, flat-bed semi trucks, road closures and potential helicopter lifts.

Trees not healthy enough to be relocated will be converted into compost for on-site use.

The result is one of the largest tree relocation efforts in history.

Newsletter Sign Up
Don't miss May's issue! Learn about landscape water conservation tips, complying with FOG regulations and more.

Latest Dudek Headlines