Katherine Gluntz Holmok bought her first home in Tremont but moved out when she got married. She loves the neighborhood so much she still wants to move back.
So when she heard
Tremont West Development Corp. and its partners were transforming a lot on Jefferson Avenue with two vacant houses into a much-needed parking area, she wanted to help. “It was my neighborhood,” she says. “And I wanted to give back to the community.”
As a landscape architect, she was perfect for the project. The city-owned eyesores were unused and just a block away from Tremont’s main strip of restaurants, galleries and shops. So the design needed to maximize parking but also reduce utility costs and include sustainable choices.
For more than a year and a half, Gluntz Holmok attended meetings, worked on committees and talked to developers.
She spent about 120 hours involved in the process and designed the bioretention area, which captures rainwater runoff, treats it naturally and prevents contaminants from entering the sewer system.
“The cleaner [Lake Erie] can be, the healthier we all are,” Gluntz Holmok says.
Then on a sunny day in May 2010, she and a handful of volunteers planted about 300 native grasses, irises, yarrows and other perennials, finishing the estimated $90,000 project.
Although plants were picked specifically for their ability to adapt to harsh conditions, they play a part in beautifying the area and improving the air quality.
Of course, the surrounding businesses are happy with the extra 32 public parking spaces, but the new garden area has other advantages as well.
Sunny Ting, owner of Ty Fun restaurant, uses a portion of the area as a community garden, growing herbs, tomatoes, string beans and corn, some of which he uses in his restaurant.
Chris Garland, executive director of the Tremont West Development Corp., says the lack of parking is “a great problem to have,” because it shows the vitality and popularity of the
neighborhood.
“People got really excited about adding the bioretention area,” Garland says. “Anyone can build a parking lot, but we wanted to do something that was good for the environment and made a statement about sustainability and doing something better for our community.”