New trees to decorate town

Bloomington will look a little greener this fall with the addition of new trees in the downtown area.

CFC Properties, a subsidiary of the Cook Group, is funding the purchase of trees with a donation to the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.

The trees are to be planted in front of Grazie Italian Eatery on West Sixth Street.
The trees, American Linden, cost $1,500 and are currently 3 inches in diameter and about 12 feet tall.

The trees are expected to have a positive affect on the local economy, said Mick Renneisen, director of the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.

While the urban forestry does not generate revenue in itself, the aesthetics it brings to downtown businesses attract consumers and incur implicit profits.

“When you go downtown, you see people under the shade of the trees eating from one of the restaurants,” Renneisen said. “The trees entice people to shop downtown.”

The attraction of the downtown trees is seen more prominently every winter during the Festival of Lights, in which lights are displayed on the trees to celebrate the holidays.

Renneisen said people love being downtown to see the trees lit up.

The precise value a tree has on the economy cannot be directly observed, but there are ways it can be measured.

“There is an evaluation protocol that determines a tree’s value,” urban forester Lee Huss said.

The protocol takes a number of characteristics into account, he said, which includes the tree’s size and location it grows in.

The trees also have an influence on the environment.

“Trees enhance the environment in a number of ways wherever they stand,” said CFC Properties President, Jim Murphy, in a press release. “This is particularly true in an urban setting such as downtown Bloomington. Trees add visually to the streetscape and buffer noise as well.”

The trees currently residing in front of Grazie Italian Eatery are to be removed by the Bloomington Public Works street department.

The process will include the removal of the trees and the addition of 5-foot by 5-foot planting grates that will control the American Lindens’ growth.

The removal process is expected to cost less than $10,000, Renneisen said.

Removal of older trees can happen for any number of reasons, including dangerous limbs and decay.

Before a tree is removed, the Parks and Recreation Department notifies citizens by placing a plaque in front of the tree stating why it should be removed.

People then have a limited time frame to protest the tree’s removal.

Every year the Parks department plants about 400 trees and removes between 200 and 300.

The donation of the new trees is not the first time CFC Properties has helped with the expansion of Bloomington’s urban forest.

Three years ago, a tornado destroyed more than 300 of the city’s trees.

Afterward, CFC Properties donated tens of thousands of dollars to aid in the replanting.

Because summer is not an opportune time for planting trees, the Parks department hopes to have the trees planted in the fall.

The trees are expected to grow up to 50 feet tall.

“Trees do a lot of good things,” Renneisen said in the press release. “The presence of healthy and attractive trees has a lot to do with the appeal of Bloomington’s downtown.”