SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. (October 16, 2008) – While The Arboretum of South Barrington recently held a three-day grand opening attended by more than 100,000 celebrants, the 600,000 square-foot lifestyle center isn’t resting on its laurels. Owner/developer Michael Jaffe of The Jaffe Companies continues to develop an environmental project that strives to "do the right thing" for what might be one of the largest retail landscapes in the US.
Two years ago, he and his team of civil engineers, environmental scientists, and landscapers set aside up to 22% of the lifestyle center's 86 acres for a Stormwater Management/Wetlands Mitigation Basin. This summer, as contractors began planting 2,700 trees and 30,000 shrubs, perennials and grasses in and around the 600,000-square-foot center, crews also began excavating the large 19-acre parcel on the northwest side of the property that would eventually hold a 12-acre pond for stormwater management and wetlands mitigation.
Tom Kehoe, senior environmental resource specialist for Christopher B. Burke Engineering, (BBEL) was hired in 2006 to plan and oversee the wetlands project for The Arboretum. He says that the project grew out of negotiations for permits from several natural resource agencies that included Fish & Wildife, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the neighboring Cook County Forest Preserve. "All are rightly concerned with preserving wetland functions and water quality," he says. "To develop the site, The Arboretum essentially had to move two drainage ditches that ran through the middle of the property. This basin was initially designed to mitigate those filled-in channels and handle stormwater run-off from the proposed parking lot and rooftops."
Rosemont-based BBEL, one of the region’s foremost wetlands and ecological restoration firms, has won awards for other Chicagoland wetlands mitigation projects, including the North-South Tollway (I-355) Wetland Mitigaton project. But Mr. Kehoe says that The Arboretum is one of the largest wetland projects that he's worked on yet. "And for me, it's fun to be involved," he says. "They are going beyond just digging a hole that will fill up with water when it rains. There are many native wetland plantings for water purification." In this way, he says, stormwater run-off will be treated naturally with biological purification processes that wetlands are known to handle quite well.
Natural Purification
Mr. Jaffe is very sensitive about having a 4,000-acre forest preserve downstream from The Arboretum, and he is taking numerous steps to provide water purification. Lee Keenan of Wauconda-based Countryside Industries, The Arboretum's landscape contractor who is implementing BBEL's mitigation design, says that the back-area pond will be fronted by two bioswale areas that will catch run-off water from the retail center and filter it before it gets to the pond. "The notion is to keep whatever's generated by the project up here so we can better manage the existing run-off."
There will also be two rock-lined plunge pools to dissipate erosion or washout problems. These will be the deepest elements of the wetlands pond, about 20,000 square feet each.
A Natural Buffer
In addition to wetland mitigation and water purification, the basin will also serve as a natural buffer to the adjacent forest preserve. "It will almost become part of the preserve," Mr. Keenan says. "There will be a lot of natural open space and hundreds of trees installed in and around the wetlands, so the basin will add to the tree count diversity of The Arboretum." Plantings will include bulrushes, sedges, swamp milkweed, and iris, attracting butterflies and birds, especially water fowl. And since the preserve consists of woods and grasslands, a lot of wildlife will utilize this area, as well.
Human Interest
While there is a bike path that connects the retail project to the residential development on the north and west of the pond, there will not be trails developed in and around the wetlands, he says. "This area will probably be more exciting to bird lovers and naturalists than to most shoppers." However, because the pond and stream areas will be fairly shallow, Mr. Keenan says they will make good areas for fly-fishing demos for L.L. Bean, one of the anchor tenants.
Mr. Kehoe of BBEL concurs about the attraction to a more nature-loving mind-set. "The wetland is surrounded by an upscale residential area that is in tune with ecological issues. They chose to live near a preserve, so I think they'll appreciate what's being left created and preserved here," he says.
Despite all the permit processes endured by a project as large as The Arboretum, developer Mike Jaffe has been happy to comply. "The Barrington community is very important to us, and we share their love for this environment,” he says. “Obviously, if you are a larger project, you have to take on a larger responsibility in mitigating environmental effects around you," he says. "But it’s my experience if you do things right from the very beginning, as if you lived nearby yourself, everyone wins."
Mr. Keenan points out that only 5 to 10 years ago, new shopping centers didn't care what was around them and how they affected the environment. "And villages got so excited about the new revenue the center would generate, they didn't stop and think about the impact on the environment around the project," he says. "To me, it is being very well done here. The Arboretum is doing it the right way."
The Arboretum of South Barrington is a 600,000 square-foot lifestyle center under development in Chicago’s affluent northwest suburbs that opened in September 2008. The open-air center is named for the lush treescapes and gardens of its landscape, and for the large tree farm that formerly stood on the site. Among retailers at The Arboretum of South Barrington are three unique anchors, including LL.Bean’s first Midwest outdoor gear and apparel store; the country’s first Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas, a luxury cinema experience and new way to go to the movies; and Pinstripes, Chicago’s own bowling, bocce and bistro concept. An upscale mix of fashion apparel brands, home furnishings, restaurants and other retailers will occupy spaces set amidst fountains, pathways and plazas -- all less than a mile from the four-way interchange at I-90 ( the region’s major transportation artery), at the highly coveted intersection of Illinois Routes 59 and 72. The center is a joint venture between The Jaffe Companies in Northbrook, Ill., and RREEF Alternative Investments, based in New York.
The Jaffe Companies, owner and developer of The Arboretum of South Barrington, has been developing successful shopping centers and mixed-use projects for nearly three decades across the US, primarily in the Midwest. Firm principal Michael Jaffe has been involved in several notable projects, including Huebner Oaks Center, a 400,000-square-foot lifestyle center in San Antonio, Texas; Geneva Commons, a 450,000-square-foot lifestyle center in Geneva, Ill; and The Arboretum Shopping Center in Austin, Texas.
RREEF Alternative Investments, the financial partner in developing The Arboretum of South Barrington, is the global alternative investment management business of Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management division. RREEF Alternative Investments consists of three businesses: Real Estate, Infrastructure and Private Equity. Headquartered in New York, RREEF Alternative Investments employs more than 1,400 investment professionals in 17 cities around the world to help investors meet a wide range of objectives – from diversification, to preservation of capital, to long-term performance. Named one of the world’s largest alternative investments managers in Global Investor/Watson Wyatt’s Alternative Survey, June 2008, RREEF has €55.2/$87.0 billion in assets under management worldwide as of June 30th, 2008. For more information, visit www.rreef.com
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