Family Pens ‘Eulogy’ For Their Dream Home After Collapse

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The owners of the home that collapsed to the ground have a message, a “eulogy” they want to share.

They’re waiting for demolition crews for their home after renovations went wrong.

Their Salt Lake City house collapsed to the ground amid a basement renovation project.

The city is still waiting to get a permit  and structural test results before they can safely begin the demolition.

The Teran family wants their home to be remembered as a place where they’d made family memories and planned many more.

Elizabeth Teran wrote this statement:

To whom it may concern (which is apparently many many of you),

My husband and I are the owners of the “property” on Roosevelt Ave that has recently been highlighted in the news and on social media. I say “property” because to us, it is so much more. I’d like to take the opportunity to expand on that.

I’ve seen people comment on this story referring to it as a “quick flip gone wrong” or “architectural terrorism” (whatever that means), but for us, it was our first real house — now turned to rubble. This was no quick flip. We purchased this home in Oct 2017 and spent this last year and a half planning for what was supposed to be our dream home, where we planned to live for the next 10 or more years. Over that period of time, we hired a well-respected architect, met with many contractors, consulted with our lender, and spent weeks going back and forth with countless engineers and city officials to do this right. And for almost every party involved, this became a passion project. Many of those same people have reached out this week and are in mourning with me and my family. Thank you to all of them, and thank you to the many others that have reached out with love and support.

The pictures of the house today are… shocking. And to see it in person is even worse. But what you all see is a roof sitting on a sidewalk, or a massive pile of bricks that somehow didn’t land on the houses so close to it. Instead, I see the home that I shared with my little family of four. I see my 2-year-old son sitting on the porch watching cars go by, or watering the plants without his pants on. I see the home I brought my now 7-week-old infant to after the hospital, and where she spent only the first few weeks of her life. I see the loss of something that was meant to be a part of me and my family for so much longer than it was. The sentimentality of it all hurts far worse than any monetary loss (at least for now).

Yesterday morning, I watched my imperfect yet perfect home fall completely to the ground, and I wept. Meanwhile, a nearby news camera man shouted for joy at capturing the event live. I guess that’s why I’m writing this note… to say that I somewhat understand the fascination at watching a “property” collapse into itself, but I feel that I owe it to this house and its history to let everyone know that it is so much more than that.

To the previous owners who raised their first child in it, I’m sorry. To the man that came by and told me about his grandfather who first built the home, I’m sorry. To my neighbors who must have been terrified, wondering if they too would experience damage to their homes, or who have been impacted by the seemingly constant disturbance on their once-quiet block, I’m sorry. To my wonderful house, if I had known this would happen I wouldn’t have changed a thing, and I’m sorry. No one is more sorry than me.

I know everyone wants an answer to “why” or “how”. The truth is that I can’t speak to that yet, but that since many steps were taken to plan this project properly and with care, the right people deserve the opportunity and time to find out without jumping to any conclusions just yet. What happens next is likely complicated and full of paperwork – things that the news and social media do not find very interesting or easy to talk about. But it’s just the truth. The incredible-shout-for-joy news is that no one was hurt. We had been staying with family during the construction, and

we will continue to do so for now an indefinite amount of time. We will be ok as we navigate this next messy part.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for letting me share my sadness with you. I consider this somewhat a “eulogy” to something that was very special to my family and is now gone. Thank you again to all those that have expressed love and support, words cannot say how much we appreciate it. And with that, I’d like to also share this photo of the house, very different from the others you’ve seen, and how I hope to always remember it.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Teran