This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Bryson Garbett has one of Utah's shortest - and most scenic - commutes.
At the end of a long day at the office, he slips out from his desk and climbs one flight of stairs, passing views of the Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake City skyline and the Capitol dome.
Voil�: He's home.
Last year, Garbett bought the historic Dickson-Gardner-Wolfe Mansion atop Capitol Hill to house his burgeoning 12-member Garbett Homes headquarters and his 10-member Garbett family.
This month, he wraps up a million-dollar overhaul of the 1905 mansion that melds vintage embellishments with modern amenities and fuses two distinct uses - home and work - under one roof.
It's not the dwelling's first reincarnation - it was born as the stately home for a former U.S. attorney, converted to apartments and then turned into a bed-and-breakfast by Kay Malone, wife of Utah Jazz star Karl Malone - but Garbett thinks it could be its last. He's planting deep roots in the three-story house that could sprout a lasting legacy for his company and family name.
A Sandy transplant, Garbett picked the Capitol Hill residence at 273 N. East Capitol Blvd. partly as a tribute to his Mormon pioneer heritage. He likes the historic feel and location of the neighborhood, where his father grew up.
His wife, Jan, was a little more reluctant to leave their 3,800-square-foot suburban home, where the couple had reared eight children for two decades and set up Garbett Homes in the basement.
"You'd have vendors or people come in to do business, and they'd look at you three or four times, [wondering], 'Are you guys a real company?' " recalls Garbett Homes Chief Financial Officer Carter Summers, who approves of the new, more professional office space for one of Utah's most prolific builders.
Only four of the Garbett kids, who range in age from 16 to 29, currently live with their folks (the number fluctuates), but the company continues to grow.
"It was just so nice always having my husband's office at home. I was spoiled," says Jan Garbett, who resisted the idea of her husband finding a separate, commercial space. "And then we got all these kids and all these employees. The kids seem to be going, but the employees seem to be accumulating. We just had to get a bigger basement."
Bryson Garbett found one - and then some.
His offices now cover the spacious main level of the mansion, along with the sandstone-foundation-rimmed basement. The upper two stories serve as living quarters for the family, which moved in last November.
"It's very hard to justify living in an 11,000-square-foot home," Garbett says, unless, that is, half the space is used as your business base. "Adaptive reuse [of a century-old home] is about as environmentally efficient as you can get."
Garbett's renovation has aimed to preserve or restore the home's original elements while incorporating a modern, upscale design.
Gone is the rustic, cottage charm of Kay Malone's Wolfe Krest Inn. The 13 bedroom suites have been swapped for a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home and professional office.
"We gutted what they gutted," Garbett says.
On the first floor, an arched, vaulted ceiling meets chic, yellow pendant lights. Intricately detailed molding crests contemporary Utah art. Patches of peach- and coral-hued brick have been exposed in the conference room near a large bay window.
Many windows feature their original, wavy glass, some with decorative lead panes or stained glass. New hardwood blankets most floors.
Upstairs in the Garbett residence, the second-story patio has been uncovered - it had been turned into a bedroom - and interior designer Scott Anderson envisions a terra-cotta fountain and wicker furniture in the outdoor space.
He also has picked antique hand-painted Dutch tiles - a big hit with Jan Garbett, the daughter of a Dutch immigrant - to line the family-room fireplace. Other finishes hark back to the early 20th century without being showy.
"It's more sophisticated, really" Anderson says. The bed-and-breakfast decor was "overdone."
The makeover has won the 100-year-old mansion a slot in the 2008 Salt Lake Parade of Homes, which typically showcases the area's best new construction.
But as vacant land vanishes and gas prices rise, the home-building industry is turning more and more to in-fill projects, transit-oriented development and housing clustered with offices, says Curt Dowdle, executive officer of the Salt Lake Homebuilders Association, which puts on the annual housing showcase.
This year, the tour also features Brigham Young's restored farmhouse at This Is The Place Heritage Park, a remodeled home in Stockton and a Murray condo nestled next to offices, shopping and a TRAX stop.
Still, Bryson Garbett has even a light-rail commute beat.
---
The Dickson-Gardner-Wolfe Mansion
- Built in 1905 for William H. Dickson, the U.S. attorney for the Utah Territory in the 1880s. He prosecuted polygamists but later represented the LDS Church.
- Designed by prominent architects Walter Ware and Alberto Treganza.
- Features elaborate classical-revival design.
- Later sold to James P. Gardner, president of Gardner and Adams Clothiers, and then to attorney James H. Wolfe, a chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
- Joined the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Capitol Hill Historic District in 1982. It had been converted to apartments.
- Became the Wolfe Krest Inn in 1997 under the ownership of Kay Malone, wife of former Utah Jazz superstar Karl Malone, and two business partners. The Malones later left Utah and sold the bed-and-breakfast to an assisted-living-center chain, which never opened a facility in the home.
- Sold to Bryson Garbett, owner of Garbett Homes, in March 2007. He launched a nearly $1 million renovation to turn it into a corporate headquarters and family home.
Source: Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council Bulletin
Walk inside
The Dickson-Gardner-Wolfe Mansion will be part of the Salt Lake Parade of Homes from Aug. 1 through 16. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. For more information, go to http://www.utahparade.com.