The Phoenix Gardens Community Pavilion is finally on its way up – with some major construct completed last weekend. The Phoenix Community Gardens and the North River Fronts Neighborhood will soon have a brand-new structure that seeks to be a community gathering space, a place to store gardening tools and process crops, and collect rain water to irrigate the garden. The labor for the project is being donated by a local union, Local 1074, with the equipment provided by Market and Johnson. They are providing pro-bono labor on the weekends and nights after working all day.

Joe Maurer, the main designer of the project, says, “I hope the project will draw attention to what the gardeners are doing: creating food in an urban context, as well as offer all the other functions of a public park pavilion ... We are seeing the trend of localization and urbanization of food systems – I am celebrating this fact.”

Earlier this year, the pavilion got nearly unanimous approval from Eau Claire’s Parks and Waterways Committee, Planning Commission, and City Council. The 1,680-square-foot-structure will be located on Forest Street across from the intersection of Oak, and will have a design similar to that of Phoenix Park, with a few dramatic accents designed in. It will also be an open-air shelter to accommodate floodplain regulations. If conditions are good, the project should be close to completion in just two weeks, with a ribbon cutting to follow in the spring.

Speaking of the structure’s practical uses, Maurer includes, “This structure will serve as a kind of ‘address’ and workspace in the park.” There is already a new pollinator garden to the north of the structure site, which features dry plants. They will also be planting a rain garden near the structure to feature “wet” plants that are native to this region. There is even a corn crib for gardeners to store their tools throughout the year, with a table to clean vegetables. Because of the design of the structure, it will also offer shade for gardeners or visitors, with benches installed inside. Maurer even suggests it could be rented for special events or parties.

Photos by Andrew Werthmann

Concept design by Joe Maurer of Next Step Energy. Get a closer look.