360 Detroit, Inc.

A lot treatment that promotes responsible residential parking

Cost

$5,500+

Participation

Professional

stormwater

Better

IMPLEMENTER TYPE

Grantee

INSTALLATION YEAR

2016

sun/shade

Sun

360 Detroit broke ground in 2016 to install the first Rear Parking Partner Lot Design. They were looking for a design that would establish a safe alternative to on street parking while also complimenting a small garden existing on their lot. The Rear Parking Partner provides a paved parking pad while allowing water to infiltrate the ground, instead of running quickly off into the street and into Detroit’s sewerage system.
Lot Type
Unknown
Special Lot Condition
Single
Project Name
Community Parking

360 Detroit, Inc.

A lot treatment that promotes responsible residential parking

Organization

360 Detroit, Inc.

Cost

$5,500+

Project Timeline

4/2016 - 6/2016

Project Leader(s):

George Adams

Participation:

Professional

Who Else Was Involved:

Contactors

Lot Design:

Rear Parking Partner

Lot Type

Unknown

Lot Size

Single Lot

Lot Address

1151 West Euclid Detroit, MI 48202


Before
After
Describe the overall process for transforming your lot.

I chose the Rear Parking Partner because I felt it would be the best use of the vacant lot. The lot has a small garden on it tended by my neighbor. Therefore, I wanted to do something that would complement the garden, while also providing a safer parking alternative for both of us.  The Rear Parking Partner design seemed like a good fit. It is low maintenance, and I increased the size of the design to have a greater impact on the environment, thus diverting more water from the sewage system.

The lot design mostly involved my neighbor and me. I managed the project and asked my neighbor for input regarding the design layout.

Did you customize your lot design? If so, how?

Yes, the lot design was customized so that it would be more functional. We installed the parking pad along the rear of our lot, which created three parking spaces on our lot.  We also moved the trees and Knockout Roses to the front of the lot to replace the trees that died or were dying. We also decided to substitute the Amur Maple Trees for two Kwanzan Cherry Trees.

Is your current project part of a larger plan, goal, or initiative within your community?

Yes

Purpose of the Project:

Beautification

Lessons Learned
Land Acquisition

We acquired the property from the Detroit Land Bank prior to installing the lot design. There are no lessons learned however.

Skill Building

After exploring options for installing this lot design, we learned that this lot design requires more resources than is outlined in the Lot Design packet. We explored a few contractors to install this design, but found it to be difficult to stay within the budget we had. I would suggest that you interview at least 3 contractors and evaluate their bids based on quality and experience. Dont go with the lowest qoute, choose the contractor that seems to be most thorough in their estimate.

Community Engagement

The lot design mostly involved my neighbor and me. I managed the project and asked my neighbor for input regarding the design layout.

Fundraising

We were able to secure funding from the DFC Working with Lots program which was extremely helpful. I would recommend that anyone looking to install this lot design explore several fundraising alternatives. i would also suggest obtaining a quote as early as possible, even if funding is not yet secure.

Other

N/A

What was challenging about this process, and how did you adapt?

Finding a contractor that could do the project within the budget set by the grant was a challenge. We explored a few contractors whose quotes were rather expensive. Having knowledge of what to ask a contractor was difficult as well. 

What is the maintenance plan for this project after its first year?

The Field Guide was very helpful and detailed related to maintenance so I will be referring back to that and researching how to best care for the knockout roses