Testimonials
With hundreds of millions of square feet of traditional and permeable UNI paver projects in North America, you can trust the name that is known world-wide for quality, durability and reliability - UNI Concrete Pavers and UNI Manufacturers. Here are just a few testimonials about projects installed by UNI Paver Manufacturers across the nation.
Our permeable paver installation was exactly the right solution at the right time. Although the realities of vehicular parking can sometimes dominate design, the permeable paver solution allowed us to construct parking lots that blend in with the site and do not present themselves as a ‘sea of asphalt’. From both the environmental viewpoint, as well as aesthetics, we are very pleased with our investment in, what has turned out to be, a very large permeable paver parking lot,” said Smith. “We look forward to the financial returns as well, as we anticipate our lifecycle maintenance costs to be well below those associated with an asphalt lot.
Director Strategic Project Development Cleveland Clinic
From day one, the board wanted a permeable lot, a view heightened by the long-term drought in the southeast, which had drastically lowered lake levels and threatened drinking water supplies. They visited pervious concrete and permeable interlocking concrete pavement projects (PICP) in the region. This raised everyone's confidence in these types of systems. The board went with the PICP because of easy repairs and a better looking surface.
Vice President, Robert and Company
Triangle Parking Plaza, Stone Mountain Park
The City of Wilton Manors is very pleased with the performance of UNI Eco-Stone permeable concrete pavers, we use them in all parking and driveway areas where drainage calculations are hard to meet.
Director of Public Services, City of Wilton Manors, FL
The Eco-Optiloc pavers in our office parking lot have proven to be durable and will stand up to a variety of traffic conditions. We were confident in recommending them for the Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital parking areas and connector roadways.
Cawrse & Associates
The Chicago Park District approved the Eco-Priora pavers for Buckingham Fountain primarily because the product meets three critical requirements: the pavers satisfy federal guidelines for ADA accessibility, the match the original fountain paving color and appearance, and they satisfy stormwater management requirements without the need for additional water storage in surface basins or underground chambers. Additionally, the permeable pavers have the benefits of proven durability, invisible repairs, and they demonstrate the use of best managment practices regarding sustainability and environmental sustainability. Overall, the permeable paving at Buckingham Fountain has been very successful. Foremost it solved a lot of problems with accessiblity and best management practices for water management, while retaining the historic integrity of the monument's original pink paving.
Chicago Park District
This project has proven to be transformational for CDOT and for the local permeable pavement market. Cities both around the region and around the world have spoken to us about starting their own Green Alley Programs and trying permeable pavements. I feel we have started a kind of revolution. We are monitoring the green alley locations to see how they hold up to traffic and weather-related wear and tear, such as snow and ice, and how they maintain their permeability. So far the results are very positive. The Green Alley Program has filtered into many of the other projects we are working on, so this year alone, we will have several streetscape projects with permeable pavers and open-bottom catch basins.
Chicago's Streetscape and Urban Design Program,
Dept. of Transportation
Stormwater Magazine - Chicago Green Alleys, 2008
Permeable pavers permit stormwater and snowmelt to drain through the voids between the paving blocks and into a subsurface detention area. They allow water to filter naturally into the ground and ultimately recharge the aquifer, and by creating subsurface detention and filtration areas, the paver system dramatically reduces, or even eliminates, the need for retention ponds. Another benefit is that should underground repairs be needed in the future, we can “unzip” the pavers, make the repairs and then reinstall those same pavers. In order to reduce stormwater runoff and lower long-term infrastructure cost for parking lots, Peterson Air Force Base now requires all new parking lots to utilize a permeable paver sustainable design. We’ve been monitoring these permeable paver installations for over six years now and we’ve been very impressed with their performance. There has been a dramatic reduction in flooding, snow plowing of the pavers has not presented any problems and snow melt drains through the paver joints, maintenance is minimal with sweeping once a year, and the drainage capacity is still insatiable.
Environmental Element Chief for the 21st Civil Engineering Squadron
Peterson Air Force Base
While the Museum of Science and Industry project did not have specific LEED requirements that had to be met, it did have to meet strict BMP requirements for rate and volume control for stormwater discharge into the city’s existing storm sewer system. The specific issue we encountered during design was that the existing storm sewer system the parking lot drained to was already at capacity, and since we were expanding the size of the lot, we had to come up with an economical solution for detaining stormwater onsite that would meet the city’s requirements. It was soon determined that it was not economically or technically feasible to provide onsite detention through the use of detention vaults or over-sized pipes as there wasn’t enough space for these systems.It also is the city’s preference for parking lots to incorporate BMPs such as biofiltration and permeable pavements into the design to reduce the amount of pollutants discharging from the site. It became clear to us that the best solution would be the use of permeable pavers.
Project Engineering Design for Chicago DOT
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
Though we have not kept up the maintenance, the system is continuing to outperform my expectations. I was hesitant at first, as to the durability of the pavers, and was skeptical whether they could hold up to the constant use of a fully-loaded fire engine. There is no movement, channeling, or cracking of the pavers. They still look great with very little noticeable wear.
Fire Chief, Snoqualmie Fire Department, WA
In past projects, I found myself having to remove other people's stormwater. Whatever ran off from others' property became my problem and my cost to manage. Autumn Trails takes a different approach, where we don't make our runoff someone else's problem, mostly because there is no runoff, thanks to the permeable pavers.
Alternative Energy Builders, Moline, IL
Interlocking Concrete Pavement Magazine, May 2007
The area around the new addition to Brown Hall at the Colorado School of Mines had to accommodate a high volume of pedestrian traffic, and as part of the campus master plan, an adjacent street was to be vacated and pedestrianized. The pavement solution not only needed to accommodate the loading of emergency and service vehicles, but it was also important to avoid exceeding historic off-site stormwater flows on the site. In addition, the pavement had to meet the campus maintenance requirements for a long-lasting, durable surface.The provision of product data, other project references and site visits, along with meetings with the design team and paver reps, provided the assurances the school needed to proceed with permeable pavers.
Lime Green Design, Denver, Colorado
I don’t think the public even knows this is a permeable paver system. But what they do know is that on rainy days the Eco-Priora is doing
its job. There is no water ponding at all, and also no erosion on the site. But the important piece of the project is the positive response from Chuck’s Produce customers. We’ve heard how they appreciate the color tones and like the aesthetics. A lot of people won’t even pick up on it, but we colored them differently - the parking pavers are
grey, the pedestrian traffic pavers are red. Today, the nearly two acres of pervious pavers look good are performing well. We are definitely happy with the way this project turned out.
Chuck's Produce, Vancouver, WA
Popular & Permeable, Erosion Control Magazine, July/August 2015
The University of Massachusetts, Amherst was shooting for the LEED Gold, and incorporating a certain amount of permeability was an attractive way to go for their Commonwealth Honors College Residential Complex. The team selected the granite-look finish from Unilock, the local manufacturer of Eco-Priora pavers. It looks more like a traditional paver, and the joints act as a locking unit. We wanted a look of a traditional paver and one that was heavy duty, but gave the permeability that satisfied LEED, which requires a certain percent of groundwater recharge. And in a climate of heavy snowfall, the product prevents the icy surfaces pedestrians dread. This year (2014–2015) is our second winter, and after snow-plowing with a rubber-coated blade, we don’t need salt because water leaves the surface and there is no freeze-thaw cycle.
Project Manager, Stantec
Popular & Permeable, Erosion Control Magazine, July/August 2015
East Village, a Brownfield re-development project in Calgary, Alberta, is one of the single largest Brownfield re-development projects to be undertaken in western Canada. Concrete paver roadway construction started in 2007 and the final square foot of pavers was laid on Friday October 25, 2013, at the corner of 7th Avenue SE and the newly-built Riverfront Lane South. The project encompasses over 376,700 square feet of pavers. Through this time period the Optiloc paver roadways have performed admirably. The pavers have stood up to all traffic loading that they have been exposed to thus far and, in combination with the site specific road structure that has been designed to accommodate these concrete pavers, the roadways have withstood the multitude of freeze-thaw cycles common to a Calgary winter season with no maintenance requirements
Division Manager of exp, Project Engineers
