Hope Community Garden

Project team

Head: West Tech Neighborhood Block Group, Jim Edwards

Partners: Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center, Cudell Improvement Inc. and the local Community Development Corporation.

Project description and goals

The project’s intent is to create a market garden using approximately 3,500 square feet of the given 4,700 square feet. The remaining land will be designed as a welcoming, community green space. A portion of the produce grown in the market garden will be sold at farmers’ markets; the rest will be distributed to members of the neighborhood in need. The proceeds from the market garden will be used to maintain the site and any excess funds will be used to develop a scholarship for a deserving student from the area who has shown a keen interest in gardening, agriculture and biological science.

Existing conditions

The approximate 4,700 square foot property is located on Tompkins Avenue in the Cudell/Edgewater Neighborhood. The vacant lot is where a building belonging to the Cleveland Land Bank once stood. Adjacent to the lot is an already existing community garden that is part of the Cleveland Summer Sprout program. The project team hopes that their market garden will act as an extension of the existing community green space.

Proposed interventions

The group will be installing raised beds for planting. In addition, the group will install benches and various perennials in the planned green space.

Site Maintenance

The market gardeners will be responsible for maintaining the garden beds and the appearance of the garden area. Volunteers will be in charge of maintaining the green space; seeing that flowering plants are planted at the appropriate time in the spring and cleared out in the fall.