Abandoned lot is transformed
Activism » One man's idea pushed a city into action.
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
A junky lot at the top of the Avenues has been transformed into a neighborhood treasure -- and testament to how a good idea, community involvement and city resources can combine in the best of ways.
The man with the good idea? Tom Berggren.
The vacant lot bugged Berggren, no doubt about it.
Stephanie Duer, water conservation coordinator for Salt Lake City, left, and resident Tom Berggren helped turn a vacant city-owned lot at 11th Ave and Terrace Hills Drive has been transformed into a waterwise demonstration garden. The garden has taken shape this Summer. The last of the waterwise perenial plants were planted Tuesday by public works crew members. (Al Hartmann / The Salt Lake Tribune)
He moved to the Upper Avenues in 1997 and drove passed the lot, at the intersection of 11th Avenue and Terrace Hills Drive, several times a day.
Weeds were the least of its problems. The lot was a collector for litter, used cars and construction debris -- a festering ugliness right at the juncture where 11th Avenue offers a spectacular sweeping view of the Salt Lake Valley.
Who owns this property? Berggren wondered.
Salt Lake City, he learned after checking property records.
"I don't know what happened, but for whatever reason that property got into the hands of the city and no one had any idea how it could be used, and it got forgotten," said Berggren, an attorney.
But Berggren, who had just completed an 11-year stint on the city's Public Utilities Board, had a flash of inspiration.
A vacant city-owned lot at 11th Ave and Terrace Hills Drive has been transformed into a waterwise demonstration garden ? an idea that was the brainchild of Stephanie Duer, water conservation coordinator for Salt Lake City, and resident Tom Berggren. The garden has taken shape this Summer. The last of the waterwise perenial plants were planted Tuesday October 13th by public works crew members. Paul Bohman, landscaper for the Salt Lake Water Deptartment plants a perennial near the pergola donated by a resident. (Al Hartmann / The Salt Lake Tribune )
The city was getting serious about a waterwise campaign aimed at curing residents of their addiction to Kentucky bluegrass. Back then, though, people thought "waterwise" was code for "ugly."
"I knew there were techniques to make it handsome and I thought this would be a great place to demonstrate that," Berggren said.
He called City Hall and made that suggestion. Four years passed and the lot remained a blight. In 2003, Berggren renewed his effort. Instead of considering the plot someone else's problem, he made it his own challenge.
"Government has a lot of demands on it and limited resources," he said. "If it is a good project, you've got to try to push it to the front burner so it gets the attention it deserves.
"A single person can't do it alone, and it won't happen if several people aren't pushing for it."
Berggren approached city officials again and rallied the mayor's office, City Councilman Eric Jergensen and then Public Utilities Director LeRoy Hooton, who enlisted water conservation coordinator Stephanie Duer. She brought know-how, private contractors and city resources together.
It still took time for the project to get traction -- mostly because of funding issues but also questions about whether a utility charged with managing water had any business fixing up a vacant lot.
"It was a new thing for the utility to do," Duer said. Public Utilities' expertise "is not building a garden.
"If it were a person, you would say they were brave to try something outside of their comfort zone," she said.
Between 2006 and 2008, there were dozens of meetings, hundreds of phone calls and about 2,000 e-mails exchanged, by Berggren's count.
Finally, a garden began to take shape.
A committee of 31 Avenues residents pitched ideas incorporated in the garden's design, created by landscape architect Jamie Tsandes of Psomas Engineering.
The Greater Avenues Community Council donated $15,000 for construction of the garden's pergola, designed by local artist Willy Littig.
Last spring, a city crew began the ground work.
Curvy sidewalks and drip-irrigation systems were a new challenge for the Public Utilities crew, who usually do unremarked upon but vital task of keeping the pump station running, ditches and canals cleared and gutters fixed, Duer said.
"They did an inspired job," she said. "They just so rose to the challenge."
One worker has returned with his children to show them what he built, she said. "It's been a great experience for the crews who've been working on it."
The garden showcases five waterwise plant zones intended to inspire homeowners, a "sinewy" sidewalk that meanders through the lot, benches perfectly positioned for watching sunsets and a drinking fountain with two spigots -- one for joggers and walkers and one for their pets.
"I feel really excited to finally see it come to fruition ... to see something go from weeds to something that is beautiful and wonderful," Berggren said.
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What's next
A ribbon cutting for the Greater Avenues Water Conservation Demonstration Garden will be 11 a.m. Oct. 21 at Terrace Hills Drive.
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