Trees from Germantown Country Club to find new life

Many of the trees cut down at the former Germantown Country Club won’t sit in a landfill. Instead, developers are finding new life for the wood on and off the site.

Spence Ray and Farmington-Kimbrough Development Group are following a suggestion from Wes Hopper, Germantown natural resources manager, to use the wood or flooring and other products removed from the development, now called Glasgow.“It’s always been an idea but my thought is to utilize the trees that are coming down and do our best to keep the good wood from going to the landfill,” Hopper said. “It’s not an old idea. It’s an idea I’ve been promoting for many many years. ... I think it’s a wonderful concept.”

Hopper said repurposing the wood is not a common practice. “It’s better for the environment and as a natural resource manager I am always looking for better ways of doing things — be kind to the environment and repurpose,” Hopper said.

Ray mentioned Hopper’s idea to Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville). Vaughan is also the president of Collierville-based Township Development Services and a consultant for Glasgow.

“When I mentioned it to Kevin, he knew a logger,” Ray said. Vaughan reached out to master logger Kevin Daniel. They previously worked together on various developments.  Daniel said most trees being removed are oaks and pines. White oak trees will be saved and reused. Some will become whiskey barrels, and Ray said others will remain on the site, used in the clubhouse and guardhouse.“It’s a prettier wood,” Ray said. “When you see these exposed beams people are putting in kitchens and homes and mantels, those are typically oak. It’s a hardwood. It’s very durable, and it’s very pretty.”

Other oaks and sweet gums will become crossties for railroad tracks.  Some lumber will go to Missouri for hardwood flooring, although hardwood flooring is less popular today as more people choose synthetic and laminate flooring, Daniel said.Any pines cut will go to a mill in Bolivar, where pallets are made. 

“The world is becoming a place where you order everything,” Daniel said. “Pallets are becoming more popular.”

Pine is a stiff wood, but not as durable as oaks. Wooden pallets can’t be reused many times, but pine is less expensive and more economical. The number of trees slated for removal reduced significantly in recent months. When the state Department of Environment and Conservation expressed some concerns, Ray revised 28 acres on the north side of the 178-acre tract, planned as a conservation area. The new plan, just south of Wolf River Boulevard, saved about 120 additional trees. The city also approved the revisions. 

More than half the trees — 1,239 to be exact — will remain on the site, and 1,323 trees will be planted. At the end of development there will be more trees than existed before site work began, according to Grayson Vaughan, vice president of Township Development.Ray will leave a 100-foot buffer between existing homes and the new neighborhood of 366 homes. Even before construction begins, there are eager potential residents.

“More than 300 people have signed up, called, emailed or gone to the website expressing serious interest in being a homeowner over there,” Ray said.