Casey Trees Branching Out in Brookland

Local not-for-profit environmental organization, Casey Trees, has acquired the site of a former gas station, located at 3015 12^th Street NE, in Brookland. In the coming weeks, the garage on the site will be razed to make way for a 10,000 square foot "mini-nursery" and tree holding site that will be used as a staging area for Casey Tree's Community Tree Planting initiative, which - in cooperation with the DC Department of the Environment - aims to plant 13,500 new trees by 2014. The 7-year-old organization previously planted 1400 trees throughout the District in 2007 alone.

The gas station acquisition, however, is a mere footnote compared to Casey Tree's plans across the street. As was announced in December of last year, the organization will be moving from their old K Street headquarters to a 14,000 square foot facility at 3030 12^th Street, NE - following a dramatic renovation and expansion of the latter site.

The 3030 site was purchased from residential developer Taurus Enterprise Group Inc. for $1.95 million late last year. By spring 2009, Casey Trees plans to have a 3-story, 10,000 square addition in place that will accommodate a staff that they intend to nearly double over the next decade. SmithGroup - whose motto, coincidentally, is “tree-hugging optional” - is being charged with the redesign and plans to incorporate – no shock here - as many green features as possible into the building. Casey organizers plan on using their new $4 million headquarters to “put down roots” (seriously) in an area notoriously free of green streetscapes and, hopefully, inspire neighbors as Brookland itself undergoes significant redevelopment of its’ own.

Casey Trees is currently operating out of temporary headquarters on 11^th Street, NW. Their planting program just received a major donation from American Express that will go toward 30 planting projects from November to May 2009. Public proposals for projects funded by the recently acquired cash are due by November 30 – just short of spring planting.

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