Saving Nature Costs Money

Developers at Flower Mound’s Lakeside Dallas Fort Worth are putting up big money to save hundreds of trees on the land again.

Leaders at Realty Capital relocated more than a 100 live oak trees from the site when construction first started on the 150-acre commercial and retail development on Lake Grapevine.

"We thought it'd be kind of a shame to have to wipe all those trees out,” said Managing Director Richard Myers.

So the crew moved the trees to a temporary spot on the land behind the retail portion of the development. The professional move cost the company upwards of $70,000 but Myers said the price would be worth it when the already mature oaks were replanted throughout the final project.

"We picked a spot, one of the commercial spots of the property because we thought it would be a few years before it would develop,” he said.However recently, progress happened at the site.

The Town of Flower Mound was able to attract Moviehouse & Eatery, an upscale dine-in movie theater, to build in the Lakeside development. Unfortunately the spot for them is right where the trees currently call home.

However Myers said they are determined not to lose those trees.

"Now we have to move the tree farm again,” he said. "Unfortunately it's going to cost us about 60 thousand just to move it again."

Plus leaders at Realty Capital said they still hope to relocate 200-300 more trees from across the development as progress continues.

"We have another couple hundred that are still in the project and as we develop the project out we'll keep pulling them out,” said managing director Jimmy Archie.

Most of the trees were pulled from alongside Lakeside Parkway;the road the project centers around.

Myers said the trees were first planted there when the road came in about 15 years ago and since then have matured. At this point he said each one is probably worth about $10,000 so it makes sense to try to save them.

Plus developers have already began plugging some of the trees into a Lakeside DFW neighborhood that is being built and say the addition of grown trees will help the property values and feel of the space.

Right now homes in Lakeside are expected to be move-in ready within the next few months and Myers estimates retail and restaurants could be ready in the next 12 months.

He hopes the next move will be the last temporary one for the trees, but if not they will continue to do what they can to keep them a part of the project.

"We think it might be good luck, wherever the tree farm goes maybe that's where the development happens so if we have to move it four more times that's probably a good thing,” Myers joked.

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