Fifteen years ago, a small group of people got together with the dream of establishing a botanic garden in Western Pennsylvania.

	Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette This is a model of the phase one construction of the new Botanical Gardens at Settlers Cabin. The ground breaking is next week. Click photo for larger image.

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, that dream takes one more step toward reality when a ceremonial groundbreaking takes place at the site of the future garden on unused property in the southwestern corner of Settler's Cabin Park in North Fayette and Collier.

"I never doubted this day would come," says Lindsay Bond Totten, president of the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania and one of the early members of the group. "But now that it's here, it's hard to believe."

She sees Tuesday's ceremony as a way to let the community know "we are really doing this."

Upon a 452-acre site laced with coal mines, the organization will create a complex of buildings and gardens that will showcase trees, flowers and other plants that are native or hardy in this climate. The cost of Phase 1 -- the biggest phase -- is estimated at $30 million.

But before any plants go in or a building goes up, organizers must first undertake a massive land reclamation project to deal with the underlying mines and mine drainage.

Removing the mines and compacting soil on the site will effectively end acid drainage that has been polluting the groundwater and two local streams for years. It will also allow naturally occurring runoff to be used to water the gardens, a key cost-saver, says Ms. Totten, head of what was formerly called the Horticultural Society of Western Pennsylvania.

"We could not use the water flowing off the site (now) because it is so badly polluted by the abandoned mines. No amount of planning or water treatment would be adequate," she says.

After reclamation, the runoff will be stored in holding ponds, and if necessary filtered again so it can be used. The facility will have to purchase some city water for drinking, sewer lines, etc., but "if we had to buy the water that we watered our plants with I don't think we could do it," says Ms. Totten.

The reclamation is expected to take about three years and work on infrastructure such as pipes, roads, etc., will take place at the same time.

Best of all, the reclamation won't cost a dime because the contractor is doing the job in return for the coal left at the site. That will add up to a savings of between $5 million and $6 million over a period of years, Ms. Totten says.

Phase 1 of the project will consist of the entrance corridor, a portion of the visitors center complex, an entry garden, orangery, four seasons garden, hanging gardens, parterre gardens, a children's adventure garden and auto gardens (parking lots).

Part of Tuesday's festivities will be the announcement of some major funding news, more proof, says Ms. Totten, that the project is for real. Early next year, the actual capital campaign will be launched.

"We have nothing in the bank," says Ms. Totten.

The $30 million for Phase 1 will create the core of the complex. It's the most costly phase because it must be designed with growth in mind, she says. Infrastructure placed now will need to have the ability to be added onto in coming years as the complex grows.

"The entire build-out of the botanic garden will likely take 20 years," she says.

MTR Landscape Architects and Overland Partners, a San-Antonio, Texas,-based architecture firm that specializes in botanic garden buildings, are on board for the project. Overland Partners will provide the overall design and drawings at every phase of the project but will hand off the actual construction to a local firm.

Ms. Totten credits local and state government for being extremely supportive. It began with Allegheny County commissioners who saw the value of the Botanic Garden and agreed to a long-term lease on the unused parcel of property. North Fayette, Collier and the state have also been very helpful.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato "got" the concept from the beginning and will speak at the groundbreaking Tuesday, Ms. Totten says. Other speakers will include Andy Baechle, director of parks for Allegheny County, and Dennis Yablonsky, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

The goal right now is for something to be up and running, even if it's just some display gardens, by 2008, in time for Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette The Botanic Garden will be developed at this site near Settler's Cabin Park. Click photo for larger image.

At 10 years out, it is projected that about 75 full-time employees will be necessary to run the garden. It's expected to influence all aspects of the horticulture industry in Western Pennsylvania by generating consumer demand for more green goods services; providing opportunity for job training; and enabling green-industry workers to earn higher wages through programs designed to enhance specific job skills.

"Lots of eyes will be watching to see that we do this very large project correctly," Ms. Totten says. "The state and federal government are very anxious for us to succeed, to take a brown site ... and turn it into a botanic garden.

"We expect to draw national attention. To take a site that is so degraded and turn it into the highest and best use of the soil is unheard of."