GREEN: Can green make a lot of difference? Parking improvements will manage stormwater in Slavic Village

Green infrastructure grant funds contribute to a more sustainable neighborhood design

Slavic Village Development commemorated the start of construction of a new parking lot along Fleet Avenue with a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, May 8. The parking lot, located at 6305 Fleet Avenue, directly east of Seven Roses Polish Delicatessen, includes a lot with permeable paver patio and bioretention features.

The lot will reduce impervious area in the neighborhood by 1,000 square feet: 300 square feet of bioretention features and a 600-square-foot patio will help infiltrate 30,000 gallons of stormwater into the ground each year.

In 2015, Slavic Village Development was awarded a Green Infrastructure Grant from the Sewer District to help fund this project. The $43,814 grant is approximately half of the entire project cost. The grants are available to communities and non-profit organizations in the Combined Sewer Area who are interested in implementing water resource projects that remove stormwater from the combined sewer system.

Green Infrastructure includes stormwater source control measures that store, filter, infiltrate or evapotranspirate stormwater to increase resiliency of infrastructure by reducing stress on wet-weather drainage and collection systems which increase co-benefits in support of healthy environments and strong communities.

The parking lot is expected to be complete by early July.