VOLUNTEERS TRANSFORM SYLMAR LOT INTO POCKET PARK ALL IN A DAY'S WORK.

Byline: BRENT HOPKINS

Staff Writer

SYLMAR - At the hour he'd normally be sitting in meetings, Richard Sperber hoisted a wheelbarrow full of dirt Thursday morning and began to push.

The clock was running, and he had a park to build. The dusty lot at Telfair Avenue and Cobalt Street spread out before him in the morning had to become a green field before sundown. And though Sperber was the executive in charge, he was there in jeans, boots and a sweat shirt, just part of the crew.

"It beats having a bunch of boring meetings where everyone falls asleep," said Sperber, president of Calabasas-based ValleyCrest Cos. "We're going to build this whole thing today. By the end, there'll be a beautiful park for kids to play in."

Instead of a traditional corporate retreat, ValleyCrest gathered 150 managers and executives for an annual meeting. Over dinner Wednesday evening, Sperber told the assembled group to be ready early Thursday in work clothes. In 6 1/2 hours, well short of the eight hours they'd allotted, they turned the 1 1/2 acres of dirt into a soccer field, picnic area and playground to be turned over to the city, free of charge.

To complete the transformation, they used 35,000 square feet of sod, 1,500 shrubs and 100 trees. Sperber estimated that planning and financing the pocket park, the first of its kind in the neighborhood, would have taken the city several years and $600,000.

'A miracle'

ValleyCrest -- landscapers for The Grove, the Getty Center and the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas -- worked with local politicians and a homeowners group to secure the rights to the vacant lot, leftover space from a housing development. It was donated to the city, which then gave the landscaper the freedom to remake it.

"I'm from the government and I'm here to take over," said Councilman Tony Cardenas, who represents a neighboring district, drawing chuckles from the crowd of workers. "Thank God, you were here to do this. ... It was a miracle, what you did here."

Shortly after its 8 a.m. start, the crew spread out across the vacant lot like ants in orange vests, scurrying about with shovels and tools. Caterpillars and Bobcats raced around, flattening soil and digging tree holes.

"Gangway!" called a crewman toting a lengthy section of metal rods that would become a soccer goal.

Building, nurturing

Paul Comstock, a former landscape design executive with Disney, eased a flowering purple-leaf plum tree into the ground. He's normally vice president and principal creative lead for one of the company's design studios, but he got his hands dirty Thursday.

"This is what brought us all into the business -- building something, planting something and nurturing it," he said, voice hoarse. "People aren't standing around, doing nothing. They're trying to figure out a way to get it done."

As the crews laid down swaths of sod, Hector Sanchez, who lives across the street, sipped coffee and watched it unfold.

"It beats that old, rotten field with the weeds and whatnot," he said. "That's for sure."

And by 2:30 p.m., the old, rotten field was no more. Lush, green grass covered the lot and kids kicked a ball around. Barbecue grills and benches replaced discarded beer cans.

The crew members, looking a little worn out after a day of hard labor, rested their hands on their tools and cheered.

"What a job!" crowed ValleyCrest founder Burt Sperber, the president's father. "Can you believe this? When you saw those kids out there, playing on what was a piece of dirt this morning. ... Wow."

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CAPTION(S):

5 photos, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) Workers lay sod on the bare ground of an empty lot in Sylmar that was transformed into a park Thursday. ValleyCrest Cos. volunteered to do the job for the city.

(2 -- color) By Thursday afternoon the new park already draws eager young soccer players. Tired workers stand by and enjoy their fun.

(3 -- 4 -- color) Above, workers tighten the footing on benches erected in Sylmar on Thursday. By a little after 4 p.m., below, the park was completed and ready for use.

(5) Jungle gym and swing set bases are buried in sand as ValleyCrest Cos. volunteers build a Sylmar park in one day Thursday. The donation from the firm was valued at $600,000.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Map:

Valley Crest Telfair Park

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