A garden center is being proposed at the southeast corner of 51st and Baltimore.
An empty lot at the southeast corner of 51st Street and Baltimore Avenue may soon host a garden center. To kick start the project residents are invited to provide their input at the first community discussion tonight. One of the main topics discussed at tonight’s meeting, which will take place at Seeds Gallery (5011 Baltimore Ave) beginning at 6:30 p.m., is how to structure the project (i.e. co-op or private business).
Seeds Gallery owner Saba Tedla will lead tonight’s discussion along with the land owner Ryan Spak and community members can learn more about and share their thoughts on the following issues:
– What is the proposed lease term for the space?
– Who are the stockholders of this project?
– What can University City District/Cedar Park Neighbors do to support this effort?
– Private vs. public (co-op) structure garden center?
– Who has an interest to invest?
– What government /non-profit organizations can be involved with this project?
There is no more information available on the proposed garden center at this time as “things are just unfolding”, according to Tedla, and many things will depend on the community input.
June 21st, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Is that space large enough for a garden center?
June 21st, 2013 at 2:27 pm
The Baltimore lots on the other side of 51st are almost entirely owned by the city. The one hold out is owned by a NJ company and is tax delinquent. No idea why the city has not acquired it to assemble the parcel for sale and development.
June 24th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
The remaining lot is Frankie Francis of the Francis Funeral Home and he has been pushing the city to give him the remaining land as a private parking lot for his funeral parlor.
June 24th, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Well he can’t get a parking lot with a zoning code variance and will need to go before Cedar Park Neighbors as the Registered Community Organization. The proposal would be dead in the water. Bless the new zoning code! Why didn’t our councilwoman like the RCOs again?
June 24th, 2013 at 3:29 pm
*without a zoning code variance
June 21st, 2013 at 1:55 pm
The Urban Nutrition Initiative would love to learn more about this! I can’t be at this evenings discussion, but would love to chat. Feel free to call me at 267-266-8745 and please visit us at http://www.urbannutrition.org! Thanks! – oskar castro
June 21st, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Love this idea!
June 21st, 2013 at 5:25 pm
I love this idea. Let’s go GREEN. I am anxious to see our neighborhood move forward with an aesthetic atmosphere 🙂
June 21st, 2013 at 7:53 pm
I love the idea of a garden center! Repeatedly I hear that it is so hard to find garden supplies in West Philly. I drive out to Lansdowne to get things. In the discussions about the 4224 Baltimore retail space a garden center was brought up repeatedly.
June 25th, 2013 at 12:20 pm
If not at that location- maybe on Spruce and 48th – there are numerous vacant plots (see http://www.groundedinphilly.org/) – and the old high school building could be used as the building- with an art gallery for local artists- and a cafe to encourage people to hang around and come back…. dreamy.
June 25th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
That map pulls up no vacant lots at 48th and Spruce because there aren’t any and the old high school is on Walnut Street. Other than those small issues, great suggestion!
June 26th, 2013 at 11:31 pm
Give it to the funeral home. Or at least let them buy it. We don’t need to “Portlandize” EVERY freaking corner of West Philly. Geez guys. Share. Enough with the urban colonization already!
June 27th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Yeah because there’s no middle ground between a parking lot and a locally sourced whatever store. Like houses that is the lots current zoning.
And for the record the funeral home guy is a rehabber who sells houses to the kind of people that watch Portland is. Urban colonization, ha.