By Kristina Houck and Karen Billing

To improve parking at Del Mar Highlands Town Center in Carmel Valley, a new parking structure is set to open by late 2015. Plans for the construction of the structure, as well as plans to expand Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas and renovate the south side of the shopping center, were unveiled during the April 24 Carmel Valley Community Planning Board meeting.

All but one of the center’s businesses will remain open during construction, which is set to begin in the fall. Most of the businesses impacted by construction will be moved to temporary locations, but Barnes Noble will close its doors when the store’s lease expires in July, according to Elizabeth Schreiber, vice president and general manager for Donahue Schriber, owner and operator of Del Mar Highlands Town Center.

“We would love to have them come back when we finish this work,” said Schreiber, who noted the center doesn’t have another space to temporarily relocate the 11,000-square-foot store. “Who knows what the book business will be like by that time, but we’d love to have Barnes Noble or any bookstore come back to the shopping center.”

“The community will be very sorry to see Barnes Noble go,” said board member Laura Copic.

Parking has been a problem at the center since it underwent a $20 million overhaul in 2010 and 2011. The center’s “re-imagining” brought in several new restaurants and stores, a luxury movie theater and many more visitors, Schreiber said.

“That renovation has been tremendously successful,” Schreiber said. “In many ways, we’re victims of our own success. All those restaurants, the theater, all our great retailers have been very well received. Therefore, now, we have a parking problem.”

To improve parking, the center added 200 stalls and converted compact spaces to standard spaces. The center also implemented short-term parking, valet services, shuttle services, curbside pickup at restaurants and an employee parking program.

“We did as many things as we could think of to implement right away,” Schreiber said. “Although I think those ideas have helped, they’re not the ultimate solution. The ultimate solution is to build a parking structure.”

The three-level parking structure will be constructed behind the center on Townsgate Drive. Because of the elevation between the center and the street, the third level of the structure will be at grade, Schreiber said.

The parking structure will feature 600 parking stalls, which will bring the center’s total number of parking spaces to 2,200.

The structure will have four entrances, including one in between Urban Plates that will be accessible from the front of the center. It will also feature trellises, landscaping, benches and three towers with elevators and staircases.

“We’re going to make every effort to architecturally make this very appealing,” Schreiber said.

During construction, the center will expand the current eight-plex Cinepolis, adding three screens and 10,000 square feet of space. (Cinepolis is the number one performing eight-plex movie theater in the country, according to Schreiber.) The center will also build a new facility for KinderCare adjacent to the parking structure. KinderCare will remain at its existing 20-year-old site until construction of the new location is complete.

Del Mar Highlands Town Center was entitled to 425,000 square feet of retail space in the late 1980s, but only 283,000 square feet has been developed on the space, Schreiber explained during the meeting.

With this next phase of renovations, Donahue Schriber plans to renovate the south side of the shopping center. If approved by the city, the company plans to construct a two-story building throughout 2016 and 2017, adding 80,000 square feet of new retail space.

In addition, the old KinderCare site could become an expanded Jimbo’s. If those plans move forward, the current 14,000-square-foot store would gain 8,000 square feet of space, Schreiber said.

After the updates, the center will still have 62,000 square feet of entitlements, Schreiber said.

Donahue Schriber recently launched an online survey to gather feedback about the services and retailers community members want added to Del Mar Highlands Town Center. To participate in the survey, visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/DMHTCSurvey. The survey will be online through the end of May.

Related posts:

1. Del Mar Highlands Town Center rejects Kilroy offer
2. Potential parking garage solution in the works for Del Mar Highlands parking woes
3. Del Mar Highlands Town Center offering new parking options, programs for customers
4. Let community in on expansion plans for Del Mar Highlands Town Center
5. Del Mar Highlands Town Center celebrates holidays

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This spring think curbside appea

When spring begins to blossom in communities in southern Alberta — flowers, a nice lawn and a near [ … ]

North East construction company, the Owen Pugh Group, has strengthened its senior management team with three new appointments.

Steve Hamilton, of Quarrington Hill, in County Durham, has joined the company as business development manager for Owen Pugh GDC, the company’s civil engineering division, while Heather Robinson, of Ashington, has been appointed group HR manager, based at the company’s Dudley headquarters.

Completing the line-up of new appointments is Vicki McGregor, the company’s new submissions manager, responsible for identifying and bidding for new contracts across the group.

Owen Pugh covers the full scope of civil engineering services, from demolition to hard landscaping to the construction of roads and bridges.

The group employs more than 370 people from its five regional offices, including its new facility at Factory Road in Blaydon, and comprises a total of five trading companies.

Chairman John Dickson said: “I’m delighted to welcome Heather, Vicki and Steve to the business, all valuable additions the senior management team.

“Each of the new appointments has a wealth of experience in their individual areas of expertise, and are already bringing new ideas and a fresh perspective to the roles.

“I look forward to helping them to develop and grow within the business over the coming months and years.”

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The following is a list of Medina County Park District programs and activities for the first weekend in May. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Register at www.medinacountyparks.com. For more information, call (330) 722-9364.

Friday

• Happy Trails Hiking Club, Hubbard Valley Park, 10 a.m. The Happy Trails Hiking Club meets every other Friday of each month at 10 a.m. for a leisurely one- or two-mile hike either in Medina County parks or other interesting natural areas. Hikers are advised to come dressed for the weather. Participants often stop for a snack at one of the local restaurants after the hike. For more information, call Dee Mihevic at (330) 722-4558. Ages 10 to adult. No registration required.

Saturday

• Youth Fishing Derby, River Styx Park, 8 a.m. Young fishermen 15 years of age or younger are invited to participate in our annual River Styx Youth Fishing Derby. Girls and boys alike can enjoy catching fish and winning prizes. Youngsters should bring their fishing poles. A limited number of poles will be available to borrow and a limited amount of bait will be supplied. Prizes will be awarded. No pre-registration required. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Derby from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.

• Hiking for the Health of it, Whipp’s Ledges Picnic Area in Cleveland Metropark’s Hinckley Reservation, on State Road, 9 a.m. This is a hiking club for those adults who can hike four to five miles at a brisk pace. Walking trails can be mildly-strenuous. Hikers are advised to dress for the weather and to have appropriate footwear. Ages 10 to adult. No registration required.

• Migratory Bird Banding, Wolf Creek Environmental Center, 9 a.m. Bird banding is a scientific research method that studies bird behavior and movements and provides valuable information about avian populations and migratory patterns. The data collected through bird banding is critical to identify contributing factors affecting populations in both winter and summer habitats and the establishment of needed conservation efforts. Participants will join licensed bird banders Gary and Jill Fowler at Wolf Creek to learn more about the significance of bird banding and see how it is done. Banding dates are also scheduled for Saturday, May 10, and Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to noon. Bird banding is weather variable and may not be done if it is raining or snowing. Signs will be posted at Wolf Creek if bird banding is occurring and to direct participants to the banding location on the dates listed above. All ages welcome. No registration required.

• Cutting Edge Organic Gardening, Wolf Creek Environmental Center, 10 a.m. Organic gardening is a movement that is sweeping the country. Lorree Cummings, clinical nutritionist and owner of Stone Cottage Farm Garden, will share the latest information on getting started, diversified planting designs, non-chemical pest control, increasing productivity through design and pollinators, extending the organic harvest and more. This class will also include ideas for edible landscaping! For beginners and experienced gardeners alike. There is a $25 program fee. Payment must be made to the instructor on the day of the program — cash or check only. Visit Lorree’s website at http://stonecottagefarmandgarden.com or on Facebook at Stone Cottage Farm and Garden. Ages 16 to adult. Register by Friday.

Saturday and Sunday

• Hurray for May!, Susan Hambley Nature Center, noon to 5 p.m. Spring is the perfect time for a chance to get out of the house and explore. There will be new activities and crafts each weekend in the month. All ages welcome. No registration required.
Sunday

• Introductory Event Photography, Wolf Creek Environmental Center, 1-4 p.m. This class introduces the fundamentals of event photography. Tricks and tips to get better photos at functions like picnics, family reunions, and church receptions are covered. This class is geared to everyone, from point-and-shooter to elaborate SLR hobbyists. This class is for anyone who finds themselves the “designated photographer” at family gatherings, picnics, office ceremonies, or church functions. Participants are asked to bring a digital camera with user manual to class. Ages 16 to adult. Register by Saturday. There is a $25 program fee.

• Natural Discoveries Hiking Series: Who’s Who Among Small Mammals, Buckeye Woods Park, 3 p.m. What is the difference between a mole, vole, mouse, and shrew? Discover how to identify these small mammals and the valuable role they play in nature. Also learn about the rarely-seen weasels found in Medina County, one of which is the smallest carnivore in the world. Ages 7 to adult. No registration required.

In Julie Moir Messervy’s new book by Taunton Press titled Landscaping Ideas That Work, the landscape architect offers up several concepts that work to help you achieve the landscape you desire in the simplest way possible, according to Houzz contributor Charlotte Albers on April 27.

One of those concepts is to make your garages and driveways beautiful, not just your lawn. Julie points out that a cracked asphalt driveway is really a distracting eyesore which needs to be addressed if you want to improve your property.

Mary Palmer Dargan of Dargan Landscape Architects totally agrees, providing the general public with many free tools on her social media site in order to help them achieve the landscape of their dreams, new driveway and all, on their own. But she is also available for hire and in attendance at such events as the 2014 Buckhead Garden Show, which culminates today in the Atlanta neighborhood.

Between the two landscape experts, one learns that creating an elaborate large garden or home landscape design is not essential to having a pleasing or productive one, even if you have children. In fact, for the most part, you will see each woman recommending creating rooms within your overall home exterior space instead of designating the entire property for multiple activities.

With Julie Moir Messervy, the goal seems to be giving every family member a little bit of space to do what they like outdoors without taking up the whole lawn. For Mary Palmer Dargan, the goal is more along the lines of creating an oasis and haven that moves seamlessly from one outdoor room to another, meeting the homeowner’s sanctuary needs at the same time as addressing the practical needs of the family.

Tips from Julie include creating open-air outdoor rooms so you can entertain friends and family, and putting up a partial fence that borders your property and the neighbors, where you want privacy, like for dining. She also recommends creating fun play area spaces for children, to lure them away from indoors and computer screens. But the space doesn’t have to be large; just creative and conducive to age-appropriate physical activities they will want to engage in while outside. And she thinks inviting the children to help with the design process is a good idea, since it will be used partially for their play space.

For a look at some unique design ideas for walkways, driveways and outdoor room spaces from Mary Palmer Dargan, check out the video titled Mountain Landscape Design. Many of the ideas presented are not unique to the mountains, as they can be incorporated into most any residential community. And if you haven’t visited the Southeastern Horticultural Society’s Buckhead Garden Show yet this year, you have until this afternoon to stop in and see Mary Palmer and all the other vendors showcasing their products and services this year.

Surprise beyond the cast iron fences at the Dixon garden. (Bill Finch)

MOBILE, Alabama — It’s the big things. No, it’s
the little things. Or maybe it’s both together that make it so much fun to tour
May gardens in Mobile.

Every spring, volunteers with the Mobile Botanical
Gardens carefully select some of the city’s most interesting and elaborate
gardens, and help dress them up for the annual Gallery of Gardens.

This year’s Gallery, open for
viewing Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., features eight
different homes and yards that pull together the big and the small in some
unusual, intriguing and beautiful ways.

Did you see those photos of the Dixon house? The front garden, in
the Oakleigh Garden District, is built around a fern and palm glade. It’s a
surprising but stunning take on the lushness of Mobile landscapes. Around back,
however, southeast Asian and Japanese themes create a series of elegant and
quiet courtyards.

Tidy as a Dutch landscape, the McGehee home and garden. (Bill Finch)

It’s an exceptional garden surrounding an exceptional house, just like the landmark old Stone Tudor house on Government, which
will be showing off its garden of mature trees, azaleas, magnolias and
camellias. Visitors will also get a peak at plans to reconstruct the historical
features of the garden.

At the Allen home, The
Collonades, and at the ancestral Armstrong home, the expansive lawns are a
stage, and dancers with the Davidson Dance Company will celebrate the garden’s
fascination with heritage and birds and butterflies (not to mention birdhouse
collections). The Charingwood Home of the Millers, by contrast, is described as
a floral quilt of plant collections.

The size of some of these
houses and gardens is outstanding. But what’s just as interesting is to see how
gardens and their gardeners can transform homes and yards that are small and
relatively modest.

I can’t wait to see what all David Schmohl,
with Live Oak Landscaping, has done to his yard. I think he takes all the ideas
that his landscape clients are not clever enough to ask for, and develops them
in his own small suburban yard.

And I was delighted to see
the most graceful example of tree-pruned loropetalums in Mobile at the
Burkett-McLeod home on a modest lot in Midtown, along with a lot of other nice
surprises.

Tickets are
$20 in advance and $25 day of. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Mobile
Botanical Gardens office or MarketPlace, or at participating ticket outlets.
Group rates are available to groups of 10 or more. For more information call 251-342-0555.

Bill Finch is chief science
adviser for Mobile Botanical Gardens, where he teaches his popular Gulf Coast
Gardening classes. Email questions to plaingardening@yahoo.com. Speak to him directly on the Gulf Coast Sunday Morning
radio show, from 9 until 11 on 106.5 FM. Watch him cutting up with weatherman
John Nodar on the Plain Gardening segment on News 5 at Noon, every Friday on
WKRG. 

Dewhurst lie about Patrick will cost him

Re: April 20 PolitiFact Texas Column, “Patrick name change not related to bankruptcy.”

The age-old political ploy to publish a lie about your opponent, knowing full well it is a lie, can have the opposite effect on voters. Yes, some people will read the lie and never hear the truth, possibly leading them to vote against the “lied about” party. However, many voters are more involved in the process today, and they will dig a little further when a really “out there” claim is made. The bottom line: the teller of the lie is the liar. Shame on you, Mr. Dewhurst! Your big fat one just lost you a supporter and gained one for Mr. Patrick!

SUSAN CHAMPAGNE-MILLER, CEDAR PARK

Desert landscaping is long overdue here

Re: April 23 article, “Appropriate landscaping can help us save our water.”

I am so pleased to see Tom Hegemier’s commentary. With large developments going in all over Austin and the surrounding areas (where every house built seems to have the usual turf-grass sodded lawns with sprinkler systems installed), I began to get concerned that builders were not aware of the fact that we are in a serious drought. It is past time to start thinking outside the “landscaping box,” and surprising that such an environmentally progressive area is not already implementing desperately needed changes. We may need to borrow landscaping ideas from our friends in New Mexico and Arizona!

PATRICIA HEARNE, LEANDER

Safer rules needed for chemical businesses

Re: April 23 article, “Safety panel presents findings on West blast.”

Although disaster preparedness and first-responder training is incredibly important, Texas should move more toward disaster prevention by requiring facilities that store, transport, use or manufacture hazardous chemicals are using inherently safer technologies. Public support is on the side of common sense: In October 2013, a national poll by Lake Research Partners showed that a majority of likely Democrat and Republican voters agreed that “the federal government should require chemical facilities to use safer chemicals and processes” when they are effective, available and affordable. Many hazardous chemicals have safer alternatives that can eliminate or greatly reduce the potential for injury or death. In fact, hundreds of facilities have already switched to safer chemicals and processes — like the Clorox Company in their Houston plant. Should we only be preparing for the next disaster, or doing what we can to prevent it?

SARA SMITH, AUSTIN

Is jail cell too hot? Don’t commit crime

Re: April 23 article, “UT report: Prison heat a violation of rights.”

We recently read your article and truly have an issue. First and foremost, what part of “prison” do people not understand? You break the “law of the land”, you go to prison. Why should we the taxpayers make your life comfortable while there? Don’t we pay enough to provide you with a bed, shower, food and oh yeah, lest we forget, you get free medical and access to training and schooling if you want and all on we the taxpayers’ nickel. So if you break the law, do your time and stop crying. Don’t break the law, live at home and pay your own way!

R. L. SANDY COOPER, GEORGETOWN

By Karen Caffarini
Post-Tribune correspondent

April 27, 2014 12:00AM

Visitors check out one of the pond displays Saturday, April 26, 2014, at the 13th annual Illiana Garden Pond Expo at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point. | Karen Caffarini~for Sun-Times Media

If you go

The 13th Annual Garden Pond Expo hosted by the Illiana Garden Pond Society, continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 889 S. Court St., Crown Point.

Admission is $5.

Article Extras

Updated: April 27, 2014 2:07AM

CROWN POINT — Steve Kenniger said he starts every day opening the blinds at his Hobart home and looking out at his pond, even during the winter when it’s covered with snow.

On Saturday, he was carrying bags full of plants that will add color and greenery to his peaceful two-tier pond with a waterfall.

Kenniger was one of about 3,000 people expected to visit the 13th Annual Illiana Garden Pond Expo at the Lake County Fairgrounds during its two-day run, Saturday and Sunday.

“The fish made it through the ice and snow this year, but the plants don’t make it through the winter,” Kenniger said.

The show, hosted by the Illiana Garden Pond Society, features several completely landscaped ponds and waterfalls, as well as hanging baskets, flowers, herbs, vegetables and flower bulbs, garden art and accessories and landscaping ideas.

“I think everyone’s ready to see gardens and flowers. Everyone’s ready for winter to be over,” said Sara Legler, president of the garden and pond society.

Rich Forster, of Valparaiso, was at the expo Saturday with Karla Eder, of Hammond, getting ideas. He said he has one pond, but is looking to build a second one.

“There are some new ideas this year,” Eder said.

The theme of this year’s expo is “Color Your World,” and many of the 57 vendors at the show played it up with bright orange and yellow hanging baskets of flowers, bright red geraniums, lilac azaleas, deep purple peonies and other flowers for sale or dotting their landscapes. One vendor took the theme to the next step, making fountains that looked like different colored crayons.

Business was good at Unique Bulb’s booth. The Indianapolis-based vendor carried such unique flower bulbs as Voodoo Lillies and Liatris Spicatas, most of which already had growth sprouting.

“We try to carry bulbs other people don’t,” said employee Leslie McGuire.

McGuire said the company goes to a number of shows in different states, but the one in Crown Point is one of her favorites.

“This is the most peaceful, and it’s all about plants,” McGuire said.

Firms up for tackling a $400,000 project to create a master plan to preserve and beautify the LSU lakes have about a month to submit their pitch to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

BRAF announced Friday the foundation has issued a request for proposals for the project, which will require creation of a “blueprint for enhancing the lakes area with amenities in balance with long-term preservation” of the six-lakes system.

The foundation announced in late March it raised money to pay for the plan. The RFP involves dredging of the lakes as well as planning for the 45 acres surrounding the lakes, including a series of pathways and nearby Interstate 10 gateways.

Answering the request will likely be a mixed team of local and national or international companies, led by landscape architects, who can meet the varied requirements. Planning teams must, the RFP requires, engage residents of East Baton Rouge Parish and gather input for ideas to improve the lakes.

“Plans are instructed to have an open and transparent process…with very important consideration given to community outreach,” a BRAF press release says.

Interested firms have until May 23 to submit proposals. A selection will be made by this summer and the master plan should be completed by summer 2015. Choosing the firm will be representatives from BRAF, which raised private funds to finance the master plan; LSU and the city-parish government, which own the lakes; and BREC, which operates Milford Wampold Memorial Park — formerly known as Baton Rouge beach, as well as some of the land around City Park Lake. 

Preservation is necessary because if nothing is done, the lakes will “turn into mud flats and eventually revert to swampland,” which was their original state before most of them were transformed into lakes in the 1930s. Currently, the depth of the lakes is about two and a half feet, which is far too shallow and creates unhealthy conditions that encourage plants to grow, leading to an eventual swampy takeover.

To keep the lakes healthy for the next several decades, the master plan will build on a 2008 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan for dredging the lakes to an average depth of five feet. The Corps also recommends installing tubes to flush out sediment. “The expectation (if the work is completed) is that oxygen levels in the water will be higher after 50 years than they are now,” BRAF says, which would allow for healthier fish habitats. The foundation already employed an international engineering firm to measure the lakes’ depth. 

The selected firm will also explore how to use the dredging spoils to potentially provide necessary land to build or shore-up recreational amenities, such as walking paths, so joggers don’t have to share the road with vehicle traffic.

The plan should also make suggestions for designs around the westbound and eastbound exists at Interstate 10 and Dalrymple Drive to include landscaping, signage and noise reduction from I-10.

Finally, the plan must identify funding sources for the project and recommendations for governing and upkeep of the area. 

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