The city of Mesa is spending $400,000 to renovate Sirrine House, which was built in 1896, and is considering an additional $2.875 million in improvements to the area adjacent to it including adding a garden and farm plots.
Mesa’s only Victorian era home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is presently closed to the public. But that would change under plans presented to the Mesa City Council at an April 27 study session.
An eight-week repair project with an estimated cost of $400,000 is to begin in June, Andrea Moore, director of Mesa parks, recreation and community facilities, said to the council.
“From the facilities side we’ve been working on what we can do to make sure we are taking care of that resource and it’s not deteriorating. So through the engineering department we have a repair project that’s underway and that’s mainly focused on repointing the bricks; the porch has become disconnected from the main building, so were fixing that; there’s some structural repairs that are needed in the basement,” she said.
A future design concept and phased plan — which was part of the $400,000 cost — has been done for the grounds of Sirrine House, she said.
The first of three proposed phases is for an operational urban farm with herb gardens, farm plots, shade trees, irrigation, a restroom, an educational component and other work costing an estimated $1.5 million.
“We have to get the house up to a basic standard of safety and structural stability so that we can then reuse it and hopefully highlight this as part of a more-public activation. The first phase being the incorporation of an urban agricultural facility including row crops, raised beds for urban gardens,” Jeff McVay, the city of Mesa’s manager of downtown transformation, said to the council.
“A large component of our agricultural opportunity is that education and engaging the community so they know where their food comes from, they can have a relationship with the production of their food and hopefully have the ability to do this on their own as well,” he said.
The second phase, costing an estimated $550,000, would include a food truck alley, event and dining groves, a walk with decorative lighting and an education pavilion. The final phase, costing an estimated $825,000, would be for pop-up restaurant spaces, a stage and structural shade for dining areas.
“While we are looking to work with a private urban farmer to actually farm the site, the intention is that the site is open and that somebody could come here, grab some food from the food truck, sit down and have a meal at one of the seating areas but they could also get up and just walk around and see the farm itself and see the crops being grown,” McVay said.
“It was a farmstead house so the idea of having it surrounded by a farm again in that context was really one of our goals,” he said later.
Councilmember Scott Somers, representing Council District 6, asked if access would be to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and if fire protection systems would be added to Sirrine House.
“ADA accessibility for the site itself would be addressed as part of that first phase. Unfortunately the house is not ADA accessible. In order to made it ADA accessible it would take a significant amount of ramping to get up to that porch level. Our intent in the program is to repair the house as it is functioning today without adding in that ADA accessibility,” McVay said.
“My preference would be to look at a budget to add it. If it is open to the public it should be open to everybody. Secondly, we should be putting fire sprinklers in this thing because it would be a shame for it to be significantly damaged if we’re going to invest this amount of money in it. We should be protecting it,” Somers said.
Sirrine House will not be a program space but more of a display, City Manager Chris Brady said.
“Right now we’re just trying to preserve the building so it doesn’t fall, right? So we’re down in the basement and realize we have some structural issues. We are really trying not to touch the physical integrity of that building in any way to diminish the way it’s preserved today. So I think we have to have further discussion on that,” he said.
Several city officials suggested an elevator or a lift be installed, such as on the back of the structure.
As many as 10 people lived at a time in the 800- to 900-square-foot Sirrine House and basement, Councilmember Mark Freeman, representing Council District 1, said.
“When you go there you see what 1890s living was like. It was all very compact living and your outhouse was out back,” he said. “Bringing this concept so we can actually use the acreage to do everything — I’m all in. So if you need my tractor, just let me know.”
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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