For Beauty & Function: All Eyes On Harbor Watch

By Hugh Vandivier, Telematrix Digital Media

Harbor Watch, covering 10 acres, is nestled in the heart of Northern Michigan?EUR??,,????'???s Four Season Resort and recreation destination, only minutes away from golf, winter resorts, four star restaurants and the pristine blue waters of Lake Michigan.

Developers have long tackled the problem of hilly building sites and soil erosion. Consequently, exclusive home buyers have come to expect and demand attractive and sturdy retaining wall products. Developers faced just such problems when planning Harbor Watch in Petoskey, Mich.

From its inception, the Harbor Watch site provided a host of difficult challenges. For one, Maple Leaf had to make significant site improvements in order to develop the exceptionally hilly plot. Consequently, the site required extensive use of retaining walls to prevent soil erosion around the buildings and around the recreational areas.

The topography of the Harbor Watch site is immense and the challenge of grading the site for every condo unit to have a water view was equally as great ?EUR??,,????'??? meaning retaining walls had to be extensively used on this project. In the first phase of the project, boulder walls were used, but boulder walls are susceptible to blowout and soil erosion.

?EUR??,,????'??The biggest challenge was establishing the correct grade elevations to ensure that each unit has a view of the bay,?EUR??,,????'?? says Maple Leaf owner Peter Tarvud. ?EUR??,,????'??In other words, we needed to make sure that the units in front were not blocking the units in back.?EUR??,,????'?? As a result, every unit boasts a picturesque view of the bay.

?EUR??,,????'??To date, we have spent in excess of $1.5 million including all hard and soft landscaping,?EUR??,,????'?? reports Tarvud. Scott Schrader, owner of Pillar Homes, a builder of multi-million dollar homes in the Midwest, believes the investment always brings a return. ?EUR??,,????'??If you don?EUR??,,????'???t have curb appeal, you won?EUR??,,????'???t have a successful project,?EUR??,,????'?? says Schrader. ?EUR??,,????'??People drive by or up to their homes, and immediately there is a feeling of pride and beauty if the landscape architecture is done right.?EUR??,,????'??

The large tiered wall in the background allowed Harbor Watch to level the grade at the toe of the wall; allowing future units to be built on level ground. Both tiered walls were backfilled with free-draining aggregate, to filter the water behind the wall.

The first phase of Tarvud?EUR??,,????'???s project utilized several fieldstone and poured walls. ?EUR??,,????'??At the time, limited choices were available to us in our local market. The fieldstone looks great, but it?EUR??,,????'???s not without its problems and limitations, such as the limited height of its walls and wash out.?EUR??,,????'?? With multiple grade elevations a prerequisite, solutions that could ensure safety and stability were paramount.

As Frank Lloyd Wright once quipped, ?EUR??,,????'??A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.?EUR??,,????'?? So the job of grooming and preparing landscapes provides an indispensable aspect to a large development.

This 4 1/2-foot non-reinforced wall sits within 10 feet of a building. The drainage was designed to alleviate hydrostatic pressures, which adds to the integrity of the wall.

?EUR??,,????'??A Landscape Architect is pretty critical,?EUR??,,????'?? agrees Eric Rowland, a principal and chairman of the board at Rowland Design in Indianapolis. ?EUR??,,????'??To a degree, it?EUR??,,????'???s what finishes off a project. Even so, we get them involved as early as we can in the process because architects aren?EUR??,,????'???t trained on details such as what blooms at what time of the year. For a large project, a Landscape Architect can map out the best land planning, helping us to establish the right views, and design the best corridors.?EUR??,,????'??

Beginning with Phase Two, Maple Leaf switched gears, having MDC Contracting install retaining walls with a product called Redi-Rock. Each enormous block measured 5.75 square feet of face and weighed between 1,500 and 2,500 pounds enabling it to reach incredible heights without the use of tie-backs.

Extra heavy-duty retaining wall blocks are used throughout the project, even in the pilasters, supporting the fencing.

?EUR??,,????'??MDC did a proposal for us, and we liked the look and function of the product,?EUR??,,????'?? said Tarvud. ?EUR??,,????'??It allowed us to be more aggressive with the height of walls, and thereby allowed us to lower the elevation of the pool deck and tennis court to reduce the impact on the view and to create a sense of privacy.?EUR??,,????'??

The real cost savings over its fieldstone and its poured wall counterparts came from installation. ?EUR??,,????'??The product goes up fast and allows us to continue with other landscaping items in a timely manner,?EUR??,,????'?? said Tarvud.

Four large buildings at the top of the rendering show penthouses, which have the best views. In the lower right corner the condos sit on a lower grade. The use of structural retaining walls eliminated large slopes, allowing the building contractor to construct more condos.

Over the past two years, a three-man MDC crew has used a Komatsu PC 128 excavator and a Komatsu 75 front-end loader with forks to install well over 7,000 square feet of retaining wall on the project. ?EUR??,,????'??Installation on this particular site was challenging,?EUR??,,????'?? said MDC installation supervisor Jeremy Manthei. ?EUR??,,????'??The cohesive soils on the site required that we import more fill than most other sites, but the job was still completed in a timely manner.?EUR??,,????'?? The contractors installed an average of more than 250 square feet of wall per day, which was considerably faster then some of the other retaining wall options considered on this project.

Because the blocks are stackable and massive, Maple Leaf was able to build a wall with two tiers both of which incorporated one row each of the patented planter blocks.

Redi-Rock retaining wall blocks were used throughout the project. The walls are constructed with segmental units weighing 1,200-2,500 pounds each.

This allowed the tall walls to be engineered without the use of tiebacks. Additionally, Maple Leaf took advantage of a complete product line by placing freestanding blocks with caps on top of a retaining wall to create guardrails. Also, in several locations columns were placed atop retaining walls.

The high-end look is what all buyers are looking for says Schrader, regardless of the actual price of the home or project. ?EUR??,,????'??People will spend more on a home than on any other purchase in their lives. Every detail, especially the impression good landscape architecture can make, adds real value,?EUR??,,????'?? said Schrader. ?EUR??,,????'??The value of a Landscape Architect to me as a builder is no different than the value of an interior trim carpenter. My clients see the skill and craftsmanship and swell with pride.?EUR??,,????'??

This wall allowed the tennis court and the pool deck to be built on different grades, allowing all of the condo units behind the tennis court and pool deck to have a view of the bay. The installation process included placing self-draining fabric over the vertical joints to prevent sand from seeping out during rain showers, irrigation, or over time ?EUR??,,????'??? preventing soil erosion.

?EUR??,,????'??Redi-Rock is better looking than a poured wall, and much stronger than a fieldstone wall,?EUR??,,????'?? said Manthei. ?EUR??,,????'??The curb appeal is different from fieldstone but it offers a very concise and clean look,?EUR??,,????'?? said Tarvud. ?EUR??,,????'??We feel it is the best retaining option for this application.?EUR??,,????'??

Hugh Vandivier is an Indianapolis based freelance writer who also works for Telematrix Digital Media. He?EUR??,,????'???s a graduate of Wabash College and Northwestern?EUR??,,????'???s Medill School of Journalism. His recent interview with Kurt Vonnegut is soon to be published.