by Tony Radoszewski and Erica Tingler

When three special interest groups with opposing views came together in a land development project, the local community became the beneficiary. A thoughtful developer, an environmentally concerned community group, and the local municipality met head-on to work out a retail development plan that exceeded EPA standards for water quality, demonstrated a strong regard for community interests, and took advantage of ecological features to create a new “Lifestyle Shopping Center” in Northeast Ohio.

In the 1997 novel “The Perfect Storm” author Sebastian Junger describes a rare combination of factors that created a meteorological event of massive proportion. Opposing conditions came together at the precise moment to bring about a historic event. One may not believe retail land development to be on-par with such a natural phenomenon, yet when financially and emotionally opposed viewpoints come together to the mutual benefit of a community, it should make news and set a standard for other developments in the future.

As the regulatory environments for developers regarding stormwater management evolve, the retail venues in this country are also rapidly changing face. Mall mania has met Main Street with the advent of the lifestyle shopping center, a class of retail first conceived in the mid 1980s, but having taken off only about five years ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICFC). The number of lifestyle/town center projects in the United States has more than doubled since 1997, and there are now nearly 60 nationwide, with another 20 scheduled to open over the next two years, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ Research Department.

Of the 50 lifestyle centers nationwide, such as Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio or University Village north of Seattle, Washington most were built in the last five years. A new lifestyle retail center - Legacy Village - featuring unique ecological and historic characteristics is the new pride of the Cleveland suburb Lyndhurst, Ohio.

In addition to restaurants and other entertainment, Lifestyle Centers generally have a unique blend of retailers that do not attract shoppers away from area malls but complement more traditional retail establishments. Lifestyle Centers are usually located in affluent residential neighborhoods and are designed around an open-air configuration creating a village or urban square ambiance.

The concept is gaining favor with shoppers who enjoy the idea of moving comfortably around from one merchant to the next in a pedestrian-friendly open air setting and also with developers and merchants who are looking for new ideas to tempt shoppers into a taut progressive retail market.

The Legacy in Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst, located less than 15 miles east of downtown Cleveland, already boasts some of the most upscale retail in the state, so it was timely that in August 2002 ground was broken making way for the $130 million, 615,000 square-foot Legacy Village, the first lifestyle center in northeast Ohio.

Legacy Village, which comprises 586,000 square feet of retail and 25,000 square feet of third floor office space, is situated across from Beachwood Place Mall, an upscale center anchored by Nordstrom’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Since its completion in 2004, major Legacy Village tenants now include Crate & Barrel, Viking Culinary, an Expo Center, Galyan’s, The Cheesecake Factory, and Talbot’s.

The 67 acres that comprise Legacy Village were acquired by First Interstate Properties of Beachwood, Ohio in July 2002. This development firm already had a reputation for working cooperatively with surrounding neighborhoods and community leaders. Their past efforts earned them recognition for acute sensitivity to environmental and aesthetic concerns.

“Legacy Village gives us the opportunity to build a world-class project in our own backyard. We know the community, we know what the people of Lyndhurst expect, and we intend to deliver,’’ said Mitchell Schneider, president of First Interstate Properties.

Yet the requirements and challenges for development have changed dramatically in the last ten years. Just as stormwater regulation is tightening nationwide under the imperatives of EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase I and the newly implemented Phase II, citizens have become more involved in commercial developments and are seeking more input in the vision developers have for the projects proposed in their communities. The neighbors of this northeast Ohio community were no exception.
Legacy Village has become a landmark example of success in balancing a diverse variety of interests including those of Lyndhurst city officials, residents of a nearby National Historic Register subdivision, and the Army Corps of Engineers.


Environmental Challenges
Many of the surrounding storm sewers of Legacy Village already share Euclid Creek, a tributary to Lake Erie that drains an area of approximately 23 square miles from 12 communities in Cuyahoga County and Lake County, Ohio. The watershed is home to an estimated 60,000 people and consequently has been significantly impacted by the effects of runoff from nearby urbanization.

As a result, a federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization has been established for the five counties that depend on Euclid Creek, which also anchors a 3-mile stretch of forest in a Cleveland Metro Park system, the Euclid Reserve. Additionally, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources maintains a state park where the creek empties into Lake Erie. The ecological concerns were further magnified by a community group, Friends of Euclid Creek, who detailed issues about the increased frequency of flooding, the consumption of green space along the creek’s waters for residential and commercial development, and repeated beach closings where Euclid Creek empties into Lake Erie. They wanted to make sure that any further development would not spoil their idyllic community.

First Interstate Properties had to find solutions that would address these concerns before a sense of alarm could take hold in the Lyndhurst community. The promises both developer and landowner had made to the neighborhood hung in the balance: Legacy Village must emerge as a project exemplifying responsible land stewardship.

Work began with clearing and the installation of erosion protection. In order to meet the impending environmental regulations, the need for an effective, economical and simple stormwater solution became evident. Joe Leopold, Project Manager for Independence Excavating, knew the project was formidable from the start:
“Because of the high exposure of the site to the public and the mature growth of trees on the site, we were required to work cautiously around specially marked trees that were to be saved and incorporated into the final development. The erosion protection sediment traps and diversion ditches needed to be installed with minimal site clearing, created a unique situation for our crews performing this work.”

Regulatory Environment
After commissioning civil design firm Neff and Associates of Cleveland, Ohio to do water quality studies, First Interstate discovered the answer to its quest for optimal drainage solutions in Advanced Drainage Systems, (ADS) of Hilliard, Ohio. Through years of meeting the unique needs of design engineers and developers, ADS has led the industry to the specification of total polyethylene systems for stormwater management.

For nearly 40 years, ADS has been providing products that have a proven record of environmentally sound performance, quality and durability.

Because high-density polyethylene is an inert substance with superior abrasion and corrosion resistance, it does not degrade or break down in the environment; therefore no adverse impacts would be anticipated.

The system designed for the Legacy Village project already was set to include 12,000 linear feet of N-12® storm sewer pipe varying in size from 10” to 60.” The breakthrough for addressing the concerns of all the affected groups came in the form of the ADS Water Quality Units. Together with the pipe, these components work together to form a “stormwater treatment train,” an innovative design that has refined solutions for EPA Phase II compliance concerned with the quantity and quality of water discharged to surrounding waterways.

“The two pollutants of primary concern are total suspended solids (TSS) and oils present in stormwater runoff during a rain event,” explains Kevin Jehl, Regional Engineer for ADS. “The unique characteristic of the water quality structure is its two chambers; one for TSS and one for hydrocarbons.”

Simple in its design, the water quality unit is based on ADS’ standard N-12 pipe. Besides the two chambers, the unit includes weir plates at specific locations and heights to help facilitate sediment and oil removal from the stormwater flow. Also, the system incorporates the use of a by-pass pipe so that the “first flush” is the primary focus of the stormwater treatment. Additional non-contaminated stormwater from heavy rain events that could possibly surcharge the system is bypassed thus eliminating re-suspension of TSS and oils.


Rewarding Results
The ADS Water Quality Unit is designed using basic principles of gravity, the fundamental tenets of Stoke’s law, and a standard orifice equation to determine calculations for sizing the unit. As a result, no other expensive or high maintenance components are needed to obtain the required performance level. Further, the relatively lightweight structure is installed horizontally without the need for equipment beyond that of the contractor. These characteristics provide a significant cost effective solution to on-site stormwater treatment.

Municipalities that typically inherit the long term care of stormwater systems must also be sensitive to the upkeep cost of these required structures. It is important that a routine inspection and maintenance program be established based on the volume of sediment, debris, and oils collected from the treated drainage area. When the collected solids have reduced the sediment area by 20%, or the depth of sediment has reached approximately 25% of the diameter of the structure, cleaning is simply performed by using a common vacuum/pumping truck.


Legacy Village Exceeds Regulatory Standards
Richard Carlisle, Vice President of First Interstate Properties, was delighted with the results of the new storm sewer treatment train concept at work at Legacy Village. Both the process and the product proved environmentally responsible, technically sound and economically feasible.

“By incorporating a total stormwater management system, we were able to not only meet the requirements of the EPA, but also the desires of the local community for sound land stewardship,” said Carlisle.

ADS engineer Kevin Jehl pointed out another advantage of raising the bar on water quality standards for Legacy Village: two of the control measures, one regarding illicit discharge detection and elimination and the other designed to ensure pollution prevention and “good housekeeping” are measures that must be taken during construction. According to Jehl, “If communities are going to continue to grow, they must address economic and environmental issues upfront and design systems that will perform for the long-term life of the development.”

If communities are going to continue to evolve and meet the needs of their people, everyone’s voice must be heard. Environmental concerns can be balanced with changes in lifestyles and economic growth.

Opposing views can be met when all the parties come together in an atmosphere of cooperation. Legacy Village proved that advanced technology can address the needs of a growing, diverse population: those who enjoy the retail experience of the lifestyle shopping center, those Friends of Euclid Creek who have safeguarded their vital watershed, the municipalities who strive to create a desirable community and the visitors to the bucolic parks that offer refuge from the bustle of urban life. In the end, this “Perfect Storm” resulted in a sea of tranquility. SLDT