New Land Creating Downtown Garden For Tenants
Gravel lot used for construction staging would become home for tomatoes.
Site of future food park, 711 E. Kilbourn Ave. Photo taken Oct. 20, 2022 by Sophie Bolich.
Pivot!
With no real estate development in sight, New Land Enterprises plans to turn a downtown lot into a temporary community garden.
The proposed garden, 711 E. Kilbourn Ave., would be an amenity for New Land residents, including those at the nearby Ascent, Nova and City Green Apartments.
“Now that those buildings are complete and all of the construction materials and equipment are no longer needed on site, we wanted to provide a public good use for the site,” said New Land senior development coordinator Joey Wisniewski to the City Plan Commission on May 19.
Raised beds at waist level would frame the outside of the 6,275-square-foot lot, while ground-level beds would be located on the interior of the site. Ascent, 700 E. Kilbourn Ave., is located across the street, and its property management staff would manage the site. Water would be provided at Ascent and need to be wheeled across the street.
Wisniewski said a QR code at the site would allow non-New Land residents to inquire about available gardens. “We have always considered ourselves to be stewards of the city and want to do what’s right for everyone, including our neighborhood. We thought that this was a better use than keeping it a vacant, gravel lot,” said Wisniewski.
The site was initially rezoned in 2008 for The Bookends development, which envisioned a 19-story apartment tower on the site and a neighboring lot. That proposal did not move forward, but the special zoning designation remains.
New Land would be given approval for five years to use the site as a temporary garden. “There are no specific plans to develop the property right now. It’s not in our pipeline,” said Wisniewski.
“It is really a lovely use of the space,” said City Plan Commission chair Stephanie Bloomingdale. She cautioned New Land to have a good communication plan in place when it ultimately closes the garden for development. Wisniewski said the firm does intend to develop the site at some point.
When the proposal came before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on Wednesday, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs and area Alderman Robert Bauman encouraged New Land to build a fence to protect the garden.
“I agree with Alderwoman Coggs. I think fencing is a good idea, the question is what kind of fence? It needs to look good,” said Bauman.
Bauman, winking at an upcoming agenda item about the proposed Moxy Hotel, praised New Land for activating the lot. “This is exactly what you do when you’re not ready to pull the trigger on a ‘highest and best use.'”
The full Common Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal on June 3.
New Land, in 2022, sought to develop a small food truck park on the site, but those plans never progressed after a license was initially requested.
2022 Photos
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