#Focalpoint products series#

For the developers, the 48 additional apartment units meant the difference between success and a cancelled project. The design team was able to decrease the surface storage volume requirements for the property enough to reclaim the property needed to build two additional apartment buildings and save the project.

#Focalpoint products series#

EHRA redesigned the project with extensive use of porous pavers in parking stalls, a directly infiltrated underground detention system fed by the porous paver system, vegetated swales and vegetated depressions throughout the common areas which drain through a series of small, decentralized FocalPoint HPMBS. Doing so would allow the developer to recapture the real estate that would have to be occupied by detention facility in the traditional design, and make the site viable for apartment construction once again. The objective would be to reduce peak flows and thereby decrease total detention volume under Harris County’s LID Design Guide which requires post and pre-development hydrograph matching. rescued this project with Low Impact Development (LID) and the FocalPoint High Performance Modular Biofiltration System (HPMBS), Why Use Low Impact Development?įaced with the harsh reality that this project might no longer be viable due to the amount of site area which would otherwise be lost to a detention pond, the engineering firm of Edminster, Hinshaw, Russ and Associates (EHRA) asked Academy Development if they would be open to a Low Impact Development-based design. Operating under the premise that all of their detention had been accounted for offsite in the surrounding master planned development, the project came to a screeching halt when it was determined by the County that the volume presumably set aside was no longer available for use by the apartment site. When Academy Development originally planned the construction of an apartment complex on this site, the economic model required that nine apartment buildings be built in order to generate the required revenue stream. Queenston Manor Apartments sits on a 7.2 acre parcel of land located adjacent to a master planned community on Houston’s northwest side. Increase Build More, Increase Property Value &Įnhance Aesthetics A FOCALPOINT CASE STUDY Project Background Fulfilling equal requirements, a FocalPoint solution will use 30x less space than a detention pond solution. The first year’s maintenance is included in all FocalPoint HPMBS installations to ensure that the system is given the best opportunity to succeed, and low cost annual maintenance contracts are available.ĭue to the efficiency of the FocalPoint media, scale is in its favor. Subsequently, more land can be developed, increasing long-term revenue and property value.Īlthough the price per square foot of FocalPoint is many times higher than traditional bioretention, the efficiency of the FocalPoint High Performance Media makes the system more than 30 times smaller, per acre treated, resulting in a 50% cost savings per acre treated. In addition, when used in conjunction with complimentary stormwater management solutions, such as bioswales, permeable pavement, and raingardens, FocalPoint creates the ability for developers, architects and engineers to decrease a property’s surface storage volume requirements and increase lot yield.

FocalPoint provides unlimited application opportunities for new construction and redevelopment. These systems are also used for downspout planters, replacing underground treatment systems and are an easy retrofit for failed traditional bioretention systems. It enables implementation of green streets using urban sidewalk planters which because of the small footprint can support designs with large trees. The system can be used in combination with traditional LID BMPs such as grassy swales and vegetated depressions. The FocalPoint’s modular underdrain, unlike a traditional perforated pipe, not only supports the flow rate of the media, but can be expanded beyond the footprint of the media bed to provide unlimited underground detention, infiltration and/or storage for water reuse/infiltration.įocalPoint HPMBS gives designers maximum flexibility in meeting both water quality and volume requirements. With rigorous quality assurance standards and post-construction in-situ performance verification, FocalPoint HPMBS provides guaranteed performance. The modular FocalPoint HPMBS is a complete, integrated system with a demanding specification that insures functionality, performance and maintainability. FocalPoint High-Performance Modular Biofiltration System (HPMBS) is a scalable biofiltration system which combines the efficiency of high flow rate engineered soils with the durability and modularity of a highly pervious expandable underdrain/storage/infiltration system.