What do you do when your pond is leaking into your elevator shaft?

The board at Gateway South Center Condo were asking themselves this very question in 2015. They weren't excited about the idea of keeping the pond due to the expected maintenance requirements, but ultimately weren’t sure what the space could be used for. When we were approached with this project, we immediately saw a great opportunity for a walkable garden. After our design was approved, we got to work removing all existing rocks and debris, repaired the pond liner to stop the leaking and installed a drain line that we cored into the city’s’ storm waste drain to remove any water that would accumulate in the old pond basin. After this stage was complete, we filled in parts of the basin with a significant amount of soil in order to create banks and islands to then plant with a variety of trees and shrubs. We built rock borders, utilizing ledge stone and reused river rocks from the original pond, and created a pathway that allowed the condo residents to meander through and enjoy the garden. The vegetation has since flourished, and in fact has not needed any irrigation due to its location within a basin that drains slowly and holds much of the rainwater. We have continued to provide ground maintenance for the Condo and have enjoyed seeing our work
improve over time. The residents have appreciated their garden and are often
found walking amongst the greenery. Most importantly however, the board is pleased that there is no more flooding in the elevator shaft!