PORTAGE, MI — The city of Portage lost about 48,000 trees in the May 7, 2024, tornado.

The city is replanting 250 of them in Celery Flats and Lexington Green Park this fall, said city spokesperson Mary Beth Block.

For a city that boasts the slogan “A Natural Place to Move,” trees were a particularly difficult loss.

“Given how long it takes trees to grow, it could be a generation before (Celery Flats) resembles anything like it did on May 6 of last year,” Portage COO Adam Herringa said previously.

City councilmembers voted Tuesday, Sept. 23, to pay Grand Rapids-based Twin Lakes Nursery $182,517 to purchase and plant 250 trees. That’s about $730 per tree, plus planting services.

Twin Lakes submitted the lowest of three bids — others rang in at $197,361 and $226,000.

Even if all 250 tre

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