Greenhouse project aims to help feed a neighborhood

Buki — the founder and principal consultant at Alexandria, Virginia-based CZB and the key architect of the Erie Refocused comprehensive plan — has been a go-to source over the years regarding what any meaningful renaissance in Erie would truly take in terms of buy-in, cash and force of will, as well as what an invigorated city might look like.

Photo Credit: Erie Times - News/Klein Flowers

It was April 2017. 

Our topic was urban agriculture.

I asked Buki whether the city should pursue urban farming-related zoning changes and other allowances that would make it easier to effectively reuse long-vacant properties, help curb crime, promote neighborhood unity, provide education and job-training opportunities and increase residents' access to healthy foods.

City officials would eventually sign off on new rules that help push urban agriculture forward.

Photo Credit: Erie Times - News/Klein Flowers

Buki said "yes." But he stressed the importance of durable beautification, which means that urban farming plans need to be sturdy, well crafted and widely beneficial. 

The Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network's latest project seems to fit that description.

The nonprofit neighborhood organization plans to build a largely underground, 1,000-square-foot greenhouse in the 400 block of West 19th Street in Erie's Little Italy neighborhood.

A crumbling single-story house once occupied the property.

But that structure has been demolished by the Neighborhood Network, which intends to bring what's known as a walipini greenhouse — an underground greenhouse with a transparent or translucent roof that is naturally heated and cooled by the earth — to the site. 

Contributed image/ Bostwick Design Partnership

The Erie Zoning Hearing Board in July signed off on a variance for the project. Its approval was needed because under city zoning rules greenhouses are not typically permitted in residential areas like the 400 block of West 19th Street. 

The project's exact cost is still being determined but Heather Caspar, the Neighborhood Network's executive director, said the group has secured about $100,000 in funding and the greenhouse could be finished as early as the end of this year.

The greenhouse utilizes the former home's foundation, which is still intact.

Caspar said the new building will be used to grow produce, herbs and other plants year-round to support the Neighborhood Network's weekly farmer's market, urban agriculture education and food insecurity programs.

"There are so many vacant and blighted properties in our neighborhoods, and you can only have so many (outdoor) gardens and green spaces," Caspar told Zoning Hearing Board members. "We're always trying to find alternate ways to use these spaces."

A similar project in Detroit, a city that has embraced urban farming as a way to resuscitate decayed neighborhoods and bring healthy foods to city residents, inspired the Neighborhood Network's plan. 

During our email exchange, Buki cautioned that urban agriculture is not a revitalization panacea. 

"One really needs to be intentional about it, and durably so," Buki said, adding that commitments to maintenance and a long-term sustainability strategy are paramount. 

Further, Buki said, any project should include lots of conversation with local residents to gauge concerns and secure buy-in.

Caspar gets that.

She pointed out that the Neighborhood Network reached out to adjacent property owners about the project to secure support and has consulted with University of Michigan professor Steven Mankouche about the best ways to move forward with its project in Erie. 

Mankouche was instrumental in creating the sunken greenhouse in Detroit, a project that used the foundation of a battered, fire-ravaged house. 

"It is neighborhood improvement," Caspar said of the Erie greenhouse project.

I suspect Buki would agree. 

"Greenhouses would be a smart way to go," Buki said via email back in 2017. "I would argue this is a very wise avenue for people to be thinking about in Erie. It can work, but it takes real focus."

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

Source: Goerie
Photo: Screenshot from the video on Goerie

Source: Goerie