The story below aired Sunday on WSAZ-TV. Click here to view the video.

What once was an old vacant lot is now a place for everyone to enjoy.

Sunday, a dedication ceremony was held for the Mary Price Ratrie Greenspace.

Just across from the Clay Center on Washington Street, the Greenspace offers an escape from urban living.

The space is filled with trees, flowers, rock landscapes and plenty of seating. There are also several waterfalls that are flowing thanks to rain water collected and recycled from a nearby building.

“I like the boulders and I like the green area here,” Ann Winton said. “I like that you can sit and view and I hope they will bring some music in occasionally.”

The Charleston Area Alliance was a driving force behind the project.

“As people come down Leon Sullivan Way, we’ll give them a very positive impression of our community,” President and CEO Matt Ballard said. “For people who live downtown, this is their backyard.”

Federal and state funds along with dozens of private donors are helping to fit the bill for the nearly $3 Million project.

The view across from the Clay Center just got a little better. The city dedicated its Gateway Greenspace just right over the street from the arts’ center Sunday afternoon.

The nearly $3 million project has been ten years in the making with the Charleston Area Alliance taking a lead role in its construction.

“We wanted an aesthetically pleasing gateway to our community, this is how so many people enter our city, and we wanted people to take ownership in it and consider it theirs,” said Charleston Area Alliance President Matt Ballard.

The project was paid for by number of private donations and grants from the federal, state, and local governments. Second District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito helped secure much of the funding at the federal level for the green space through several earmarks.

“It’s your tax dollars coming back to you in the form of enrichment and an improvement to our community and our way life,” said the Congresswoman.

During his remarks Mayor Danny Jones recalled places that use to occupy the space on Washington Street East. He invoked the names of Charleston High School and Roger Dean Chevrolet eliciting a few chuckles from the crowd. He also cited the importance of having such a space to greet those coming off of Interstate 64.

“This is the first impression they may have of our city if this is where they arrive in Charleston,” said the Mayor.

The Greenspace is now open for the public to enjoy and includes a number of features including a bike rack, sitting area, and educational zones for children or those looking to learn about plant life in the state.

By Sara Busse

The much-anticipated Charleston Gateway Greenspace will be dedicated at 1:30 p.m. May 16. A lot has been written and reported about transforming a parking lot into a garden — it’s a beautiful green gem right in the middle of town.

If you haven’t had a chance to stroll along the walkways of this lovely spot, visit soon. Take your kids. Add this to your Clay Center experience. Just go.

Susie Salisbury, Charleston Area Alliance wonderwoman, all-around good citizen and tireless worker, has been one of the forces behind the Greenspace.

“We were starving for downtown greenspace,” Salisbury said. She pointed to several studies that have been done over the past 30 years noting the need for redevelopment of downtown Charleston, with the space around the Clay Center as one of the keys to connecting the state Capitol with downtown.

Salisbury said that the most frequently asked questions early on in the project included parking for the Clay Center and finances. The Clay Center addressed the parking issue by creating a new parking spot in the same block. Money has come from many sources, including several grants from the Federal Highway Administration, CURA, various garden clubs, private donors and many other sources. A major contribution will be announced at the opening ceremony.

Another question often thrown at Salisbury is about lighting — folks are worried about safety at night. On a recent visit, Salisbury pointed out the array of different lighting sources.

“There are LED lights and special-effect lighting on the stream. It will be very well-lit,” Salisbury assured me.

There are educational opportunities galore — the space represents a slice of West Virginia natural history. According to information from Salisbury, the stacked terraces that create the backdrop to the park resemble the rugged sandstone cliffs of the southern Appalachian Mountains. A rocky stream fed by recycled rooftop storm water tumbles down the cliffs into a small pool at the foot of the terraces.

“These boulders were brought in from the Marmet Locks and Dam worksite,” Salisbury said, pointing to the huge, gray stones. “And those others came from a mountaintop mining site.” She pointed a “bubbler” fountain basin carved into one of the stones, cut by hand by Orders Construction workers.

“They were so scared they would mess up this huge boulder,” Salisbury said. “They were out here chiseling away for days. They did a wonderful job — it’s just perfect.”

The plants are a who’s-who list of West Virginia species. Trees include: Acer rubrum (red maple), Betula lenta (yellow birch), Carya ovata (shagbark hickory), Fagus grandifolia (American beech), Oxydendron arboretum (sourwood), Pinus virginiana (Virginia pine), Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak), Amelanchier laevis (serviceberry), Carpinus caroliniana (ironwood), Cornus florida (flowering dogwood), and Halesia carolina (Carolina silverbell).

Shrubs include: Hammamelis virginiana (witchhazel), Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) and Rhododendron calendulaceum (flame azalea).

They’ve used Pachysandra procumbens (Alleghany spurge) as groundcover. Perennials and grasses include Aster divaricatus (white wood aster), Athyrium fillix-femina (lady fern), Aster novae-angliae (New England aster), Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine), Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower), Heuchera americana (alum root), Iris versicolor (blueflag iris), Penstemon digitalis (talus slope penstemon), Panocum virgatum (switch grass), Rudebeckia fulgida (black-eyed Susan), Schizacrim scoparius (little bluestem), Tiarella cordofolla (foamflower) and Thelypteris noveboracesis (New York fern).

The Kanawha County Master Gardeners will be at the opening today doing a gardening craft with children.

After years of fundraising and months of construction, Gateway Greenspace, at the corner of Leon Sullivan Way and Washington Street East, is ready for its unveiling.

The grand opening celebration is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

“This is an exciting moment for the Charleston Area Alliance, the City of Charleston and the many organizations who helped make this happen,” said Susie Salisbury, Alliance vice president of community development.

The more than $3 million project has transformed an ordinary asphalt parking lot across from the Clay Center into a slice of West Virginia natural heritage.

Gateway Greenspace presents an attractive entrance into Charleston and will feature educational programming opportunities and links to historic, transportation, environmental and cultural facets of the community.

The sustainible design features include the reuse of an urban site as open space, the use of best management practices – including native plantings – and capturing rainwater to supply the park’s stream and reflecting pool features.

“This project is a much-needed enhancement to the Capital City,” Salisbury said. “It will help connect the downtown and East End areas and will augment the beauty of Charleston, making it a better place to work and live.”

The grand opening event begins with a 1:30 p.m. gathering. The John Adams Jazz Band is scheduled to perform.

The formal program is scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m., and a butterfly release for children in attendance will follow. Refreshments and greenspace tours also will be available.

After years of fundraising and months of construction, Gateway Greenspace, at the corner of Leon Sullivan Way and Washington Street East, is ready for its unveiling.

The grand opening celebration is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 16.

“This is an exciting moment for the Charleston Area Alliance, the City of Charleston and the many organizations who helped make this happen,” said Susie Salisbury, Alliance vice president of community development.

The more than $3 million project has transformed an ordinary asphalt parking lot across from the Clay Center into a slice of West Virginia natural heritage.

Gateway Greenspace presents an attractive entrance into Charleston and will feature educational programming opportunities and links to historic, transportation, environmental and cultural facets of the community.

The sustainible design features include the reuse of an urban site as open space, the use of best management practices – including native plantings – and capturing rainwater to supply the park’s stream and reflecting pool features.

“This project is a much-needed enhancement to the Capital City,” Salisbury said. “It will help connect the downtown and East End areas and will augment the beauty of Charleston, making it a better place to work and live.”

The grand opening event begins with a 1:30 p.m. gathering. The John Adams Jazz Band is scheduled to perform.

The formal program is scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m., and a butterfly release for children in attendance will follow. Refreshments and greenspace tours also will be available.

Bob Orders of Orders Construction examines the stream bed along with John Persun, Orders Construction, Mike Aeiker, Charleston Area Alliance and Pat Bond, Mountaineer Capital.

Trash receptacles have been installed throughout the site.

In the past day, the site has been cleared of equipment and supplies no longer needed all in preparation for the sod to arrive next week.

Bikes racks are installed along the eastern edge of the greenspace.

Parts of the inner sidewalk has been formed and poured and the stone capping continues to be installed around the reflecting pool.

Stay tuned as we count down the days until the greenspace is ready for you to enjoy!

Garrett Masonry Inc. is installing the corner streetscape brick along Washington Street East and Leon Sullivan Way.

Terra Care planted trees in the mound area along the southeast area of the site. They are continuing to install additional perennial plant material throughout the greenspace.

The first of the green for the new greenspace across from the Clay Center was unloaded Wednesday. The park at the corner of Leon Sullivan Way and Washington Street has been a long time in the making and was delayed further by this year’s relentless winter weather.

Jimmy Blake (left) and Terry Albright, employees from TerraCare in Malden, maneuver a tree into place at the city’s newest park.