St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church

Solution Blue helped St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church to address several site issues including improper drainage, overgrown landscaping, water leakage into the basement and deteriorating parking lots. We provided the site analysis, conceptual planning, hydrologic modeling, landscape design, site engineering, permitting, bidding assistance, construction documents, provided construction oversight and prepared as-builts for a comprehensive network of site improvements and stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) throughout the Church’s 4-acre campus. Construction was completed in November of 2010.

Stormwater Improvement Project at St. Mary’s Church in Minneapolis, MN
Our team provided Civil, Landscape Architecture, and "Next Generation" Stormwater Management design
Landscapes were designed using Low Impact Site Development principles
Rain Gardens greatly improve the water quality leaving the site by capturing pollutants in stormwater runoff
Green infrastructure was implemented through permeable pavers, designed to capture & treat stormwater runoff on-site

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Project Overview

Client: St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Services: Stormwater Management, Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, Site Planning & Design, Stormwater Modeling, Project & Construction Management

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Challenges

Site is adjacent to an impaired water body, which escalated the strictness of Watershed and City regulations
The abundance of impervious surfaces generated high volumes of stormwater runoff that was reaching the City’s storm sewers (City’s “Stormwater Utility Fee” was costing the Church over $10,000 per year).
Due to ongoing Church services, weddings and other events, construction was complicated and required maximum efficiency in use of space.

Solution and Results

Solution Blue designed and implemented a network of solutions to establish proper drainage, increase stormwater storage, improve the site’s aesthetics, provide infiltration and enhance the overall campus. Our team successfully executed the site analysis, planning, design development, permitting, bidding assistance, project management and also helped the Church obtain a sizeable cost-share grant because of the significant water quality and rate control improvements.

Implemented (5) rain gardens to improve water quality and reuse stormwater.
Employed sub-surface chambers to increase stormwater storage and facilitate infiltration.
Utilized permeable pavers to provide filtration of runoff and create attractive parking stalls.
Selected primarily native plant species to increase the uptake of water and enhance drought resistance.
Helped the Church eliminate their City of Minneapolis “Stormwater Utility Fee”.
Provided assistance to help the Church obtain a cost-share grant (over $210,000) from the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District.