Online tool to estimate costs for vacant lot transformations
Cost Inputs
On this screen you can see the default estimated costs, per square foot, for mowing and planting for the various treatments. If you have calculated different costs for your project, insert those here and click “Calculate” to see how this impacts your overall project costs. Be sure your costs are by the square foot.
Build-Ons
Build-ons are the added features that you can install on your vacant lot project, like trees, raised beds for community gardens, rain gardens, and trails. The default costs are set, but if you have found your costs may be different, you can change those on this screen. Then, click “Calculate” to see how those changes impact your total project cost.
Cost Ranges
Vacant Lot transformation cost estimates are included in the “Vacant Lot Cost Savings Through Nature-Based Solutions” report. Below are the cost ranges determined to be the most accurate for the Kansas City Metro Area. The default settings for the Vacant to Vibrant Calculator are set to the high values in the ranges. However, you are able to adjust the costs in the “Cost Inputs” and “Build-Ons” tabs in order to reflect your lot project. You can use the table below to help you adjust your cost inputs.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Mowing | $0.0079 per square foot |
| Cost to Plant (Labor) | $0.0287 per square foot |
| Landscape Trees | $400 per tree |
| Landscape Trees (maintenance) | $21.60 per tree |
| Orchard Trees | $50.00 per tree |
| Orchard Trees (maintenance) | $6.08 per tree |
| Community Garden | $920.86 for 6 raised beds (4’x12’x8”) |
| Community Garden O&M per year (6) | $122.80 per year for 6 beds |
| Cost for Meadow (seed) | $0.007-0.034 per square foot |
| Cost for Clover Meadow (seed) | $0.001-0.0287 per square foot |
| Rain Garden | $10-20 per square foot |
| Rain Garden (maintenance) | $1.50-2.00 per square foot |
| Walking Paths | $0.30-0.45 per linear foot |
| Walking Paths (maintenance) | $.03-.08 per linear foot |
Inputs
Tell us about your vacant lot. How big is it? Select the features you want to plant or build on the lot?
If you want a meadow of native plants and wildflowers or an open greenspace with clover or turfgrass, only add your lot dimensions below. If you would like other features choose the number and type.
Outputs
Below are the estimated costs for installation and maintenance for your lot transformation choices. There are 3 groundcover options – native plants meadow, clover meadow and turfgrass. Compare the 3 groundcover options for your project by toggling between them under the Outputs tab. Choose the best groundcover option for your budget and maintenance goals.
Click the “Transformation Benefits” tab to discover the benefits of each groundcover choice.
To find out how this calculator determined your costs, click on the “Cost Inputs,” “Build-Ons,” and “Cost Ranges” tabs. If you feel that these estimates are too high or too low, you can adjust costs for each lot option in order to reflect more closely costs you find while shopping around for goods and services.
Mowing(s) per Year
Total Installation + First Year Maintenance
Annual Maintenance
Outputs
Below are the estimated costs for installation and maintenance for your lot transformation choices. There are 3 groundcover options – native plants meadow, clover meadow and turfgrass. Compare the 3 groundcover options for your project by toggling between them under the Outputs tab. Choose the best groundcover option for your budget and maintenance goals.
Click the “Transformation Benefits” tab to discover the benefits of each groundcover choice.
To find out how this calculator determined your costs, click on the “Cost Inputs,” “Build-Ons,” and “Cost Ranges” tabs. If you feel that these estimates are too high or too low, you can adjust costs for each lot option in order to reflect more closely costs you find while shopping around for goods and services.
Mowing(s) per Year
Total Installation + First Year Maintenance
Annual Maintenance
Outputs
Below are the estimated costs for installation and maintenance for your lot transformation choices. There are 3 groundcover options – native plants meadow, clover meadow and turfgrass. Compare the 3 groundcover options for your project by toggling between them under the Outputs tab. Choose the best groundcover option for your budget and maintenance goals.
Click the “Transformation Benefits” tab to discover the benefits of each groundcover choice.
To find out how this calculator determined your costs, click on the “Cost Inputs,” “Build-Ons,” and “Cost Ranges” tabs. If you feel that these estimates are too high or too low, you can adjust costs for each lot option in order to reflect more closely costs you find while shopping around for goods and services.
Mowing(s) per Year
Total Installation + First Year Maintenance
Annual Maintenance
Resources
Designing Your Lot
Vacant to Vibrant Guides to Lot Transformations – Urban Neighborhood Initiative
Vacant Lots and Land Program – Land Bank Kansas City, MO
Heartland Conservation Alliance Mapping Tool
What to Plant
Recommended Landscape Trees for Metro KC, KSRE Johnson County
Recommended Native Plants for Kansas City – KSRE Johnson County
Planting Orchard Trees – The Giving Grove
Kansas City, Missouri: Urban Forest Master Plan – Fall 2018
Bridging The Gap’s Heartland Tree Alliance
Funding & Resource Opportunities
Funding Opportunities for Vacant Lots
Transformation Benefits
Transforming a vacant lot to vibrant oasis inside your neighborhood has economic, social and environmental benefits to you and your community.
Economic Benefits
- Cost savings predicted for installation and ongoing maintenance of vacant lot
- Employment opportunities for local businesses to provide general maintenance including mowing and litter removal
- Employment opportunities for skilled, long-term employees for specific installation and maintenance projects
- Reduced herbicide costs to the Kansas City Land Bank or caretakers of lots
- Reduced mowing costs to the Kansas City Land Bank or caretakers of the lots
- Improved property values due to improved neighborhood aesthetics, for example trees increase residential property and commercial rental values by an average of 7% 1
- Promotes entrepreneurship through opportunities to sell produce grown on the lot
1 Wolf, K.L. August 2007. City Trees and Property Values. Arborist News 16, 4: 34-36.
For more details on the economic benefits of vacant lot projects, see the benefits section of the “Vacant Lot Cost Savings Through Nature-Based Solutions.”
Social Benefits
- Crime can be substantially reduced through improvements in the build environment (example: a 10% increase in tree canopy provides a 12% decrease in crime) 2
- Neighborhood beautification through increased natural areas
- Mosquito reduction due to the removal of trash and illegal dumping, which decreases mosquito annoyance and potential for vector-borne illnesses
- Promotes healthy eating through the increase of fruits and vegetables grown on-site
- Promotes physical activity by providing a safe, accessible and attractive neighborhood amenity in which to walk, run and play
- More productive gardens of neighbors nearby the vacant lot due to the increase in pollinators
- Pet friendly due to open space for dog walking, running or playing, and ability of the clover treatment to avoid yellow-spotting due to pet urine
2 Troy, A., Grove, J.M., O’Niel-Dunne, J. “The relationship between tree canopy and crime rates across an urban-rural gradient in the greater Baltimore region.” Landscape and Urban Planning. April, 27, 2012.
For more details on the social benefits of vacant lot projects, see the benefits section of the “Vacant Lot Cost Savings Through Nature-Based Solutions.”
Environmental Benefits
- Reduced stormwater runoff due to increased infiltration, ultimately reducing local flood risk 2
- Reduced air pollution due to reduced mowing
- Air pollution removal due to the natural ability of trees to remove air pollutants
- Less herbicide use
- Improved water quality due to less runoff and the natural uptake of pollutants in some treatments
- Reduced heat island effect lowering urban temperatures and risks of heat related illness, along with reducing the heat that creates ozone air pollution
- Reduced soil erosion due to the holding capacity of the native plants and trees
- Improved soil health due to native plants having deeper roots which improves water infiltration, more organic matter which increases soil nutrients, and clover’s ability, as a legume, to fix nitrogen increasing soil nutrients even more
- Promotes pollinators which has a large impact on plant health, viability and food crop success across a large area
For more details on the environmental benefits of vacant lot projects, see the benefits section of the “Vacant Lot Cost Savings Through Nature-Based Solutions.”
©2020 Vacant To Vibrant. Made possible by partnerships and collaborations of the listed organizations.