As soon as he bought his late-19th-century house in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood, John Tolo planted two gardens with tomatoes and collard greens for his new neighbor.
On Thursday afternoon, that neighbor's garden flourished along with Tolo's own plot even as his house remained uninhabitable. To Tolo, who runs his own Christian-based foundation, gardens make not just salsa, but neighborhoods.
Tolo bought the house at 537 W. Charles Av., just north of University Avenue and east of Dale Street, with the goal of turning it into a community house. The garden serves as a draw.
The house has been stripped to its bones and is being rebuilt with mostly donated goods, services and labor. Tolo said he hopes his wife and three young children can move in within 45 days. On Thursday the structure was little more than peeling paint and a decrepit stoop. The house has no windows, appliances or plumbing, but it played host to a midday celebration. Ramsey County Sheriff Matt Bostrom stopped by. Visitors gathered to eat cupcakes and mingle while a crew of volunteers prayed and forged ahead with the work.
Tolo is trying to replicate what he says was the success of gardens that he and his wife built at their Roseville apartment complex four years ago. He credits the gardens with building a community gathering place and reducing crime at the complex.
The Frogtown house will have a "community room" open to all with a separate entrance from the family residence, Tolo said.
The family has already met all its neighbors on the block, and Tolo said they love the stew of ethnicities and backgrounds.
"The best place to hang out is in the alley," Tolo said. "Community happens in the alley."
