M ost people probably wouldn’t have seen the potential in the house on Everett’s Baker Avenue.
Trash littered the yard, it had more weeds than grass and the inside was “disgustingly dirty,” Jonas Nicotra recalled.
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Photo Gallery“It was trashed.”
But the circa 1925 bungalow retained its original wood trim and the mantel caught his eye. The basement didn’t leak, and the floors were solid and level, the construction solid.
Nicotra, a translator and interpreter, along with friend Craig Bertram, a nurse, bought that house six years ago. They poured time, money and energy giving the aging house a new life: scrubbing, painting, pulling weeds, and manhandling loads of rocks and dirt.
| The city will recognize dozens of Everett home and business owners at an awards ceremony today. The 11th Annual Monte Cristo Award ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore, Ave. After a reception featuring beverages, desserts and music, the awards will be presented at 7:15 p.m. |
Now the house pops out like a sherbet orange thumb amid the safer shades of this Riverside neighborhood.
The trash and weeds are long gone. Sculpted flowerbeds, trees and a custom wood fence Nicotra designed surround the cheery bungalow.
Nicotra and Bertram took advantage of the city’s tree planting program and added trees along the sidewalk.
In the back yard, they found “everything except human bones” and replaced the garbage with loads of topsoil and gravel for pathways. They planted a vegetable garden and rows of trees. Bertram built an aviary to keep doves and golden pheasants.
Remembering his childhood in a Brazil neighborhood filled with brightly painted homes, Nicotra chose shades of orange and champagne for the exterior, colors he equates with summertime.
Taking care of the property increased its value, he said. But the two put so much into the house because they wanted to make the house feel like a home.
“When you come home at night, you want it to feel like it’s a nice place to come home to,” Nicotra said.
The city wants to honor residents that are making Everett a nicer place to come home to.
The roommates are among several dozen home and business owners the city will honor tonight with the annual Monte Cristo Awards for showing extensive pride in their property.
Awards are given in three categories: Rejuvenation and Transformation, Pride of the Neighborhood and Neighborhood Friendly Business.
The city also recognizes a few perennial winners with the Director’s Award. John and Christine Monroe of the Port Gardner neighborhood and Thong Nguyen of the Bayside neighborhood received the special designation.
All award recipients receive a plaque for placement on the outside of their home or business.
Everett residents nominated more than 150 properties this year. A committee of residents who serve on the Council of Neighborhoods helped make the final selections.
Landscaping, lawn care and upkeep of the outside of the home are considered during the selection process. The committee does not enter the inside of homes or peek in enclosed backyards.
This is the 11th year of the Monte Cristo Awards, a program created by city council president Marian Krell while she worked for the Office of Neighborhoods. The city would offer residents a carrot, an incentive to take some pride in their surroundings, rather than only enforcing city codes.
“Her vision was recognizing residents who had done an exceptionally good job taking care of their property and landscape,” said Wendy McClure, coordinator of the Office of Neighborhoods.
“I think people who take care of their yards are an inspiration to their neighbors. You go by their yard and think, ‘I could do that.’”
Krell said the program is the antithesis of the Broken Windows Theory, which holds that urban decay left unchecked leads to more decay and crime. She hoped rewarding owners who put forth exceptional effort maintaining their property would spread. “You will see areas where awards are clustered so we do think it catches on,” she said.
The Office of Neighborhoods will begin accepting nominations February for next year’s awards. Look for brochures then at the Everett library.
For more information, contact the office at 425-257-8717.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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