Landscape plans aim at preserving historic spots

The Department of Facilities Planning and Construction has put together a long-term plan to preserve historic landscapes on campus.

The plan aims to protect plants while opening up many of the campus’ historic sites: McCorkle Place, Polk Place, the Forest Theatre, the Bell Tower and the woods around Kenan Stadium.

The Campus Historic Landscape Master Plan still must be sent to the Board of Trustees for approval after the details are fleshed out.

The plan grew out of work started by the Chancellor’s Task Force on Landscape Heritage and Plant Diversity, created in 2004.

The initial project focused mostly on preserving the plants and trees around campus.

Anna Wu, director of facilities planning and construction, said the plan expands to include the campus’ iconic spots in addition to the landscaping.

Among the changes being considered:

n Remove the bushes on the north side of the Bell Tower parallel to South Road and open the space up by building a small set of stairs.

n Reforestation around Kenan Stadium by roping off small sets of new trees over a period of five to ten years to help their growth.

The master plan analyzed 1,300 trees and found that no new trees are growing near the stadium because of the foot traffic on and around the paths.

At the buildings and grounds committee meeting, Trustee Nelson Schwab suggested that new trees could be transplanted from Carolina North.

n Rebuild the pathways near Kenan Stadium and widen them to make them more clear and make the circulation around the stadium easier.

n Open up Polk Place by moving the light poles out of the middle of the quad, as well as moving the bike racks closer to the buildings.

The proposed plan has no set timeline as the details are still being worked out.

“It suggests projects for improvement, but we don’t have set plans for it,” Wu said.

About half of the money needed for the project will come from the J. Paul Getty Campus Heritage Grants program, which provided UNC about $100,000 for its projects.

That program was created to help colleges and universities manage and preserve the integrity of their significant historic buildings, sites and landscapes.

But since the project is expected to cost $200,000, funding for the rest of the plans remains uncertain, said Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction.

“It’s hard to get the money since it is not necessarily a must-have set of projects,” Runberg said.

“As funding becomes available, we can do segments of the plan.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.