Carl Andersson
The City of Madison recently acquired the open space on the 600 block between E Dayton and E Mifflin Sts., known as the Reynolds' Homestead, in an even exchange for land on the 700 block, known as Market Place. Three principle uses for the newly acquired land are now under consideration: condominium housing, affordable housing, and community gardens.
The land in question constitutes roughly 9/10 acre, valued at roughly $225,000, and is currently surfaced with packed clay and light gravel. Housing proponents note that the density of the housing may be restricted without loss of sale proceeds through a TIF funding option due to expire at the end of September. At its meeting on 13 August the Community Development Authority deferred taking a decision on the matter and called instead for a public hearing on the community gardens option. The community gardens plan will be presented to the Plan Commission at its meeting on the 8th of September.
Under the proposal of the North Isthmus Community Coalition (NICC) [Ed note: NICC is an ad hoc group organized by Carl Andersson], the Planning and Development Unit of the city would lease the Homestead area to the Community Action Coalition, presumably on a 5-year renewable lease, as it does for many other community gardens locations around the city. Allowing for walkways, there would be space for roughly 140 garden plots of roughly 25 square yards each, and slightly more than 140 area residents have already expressed interest in gardening at this location next year.
NICC officers include a member of the board of each of TLNA and OMPNA as well as the president of the Dayton Row Assn. and other residents of these two neighborhoods. Our membership meets on the last Thursday of each month.
NICC has collected petitions supporting the community gardens proposal, especially of OMP residents soon to be excess of the number of voters in the last election.
Unlike city park land which cost the city roughly $1922/acre in 1996 to maintain, the Homestead Community Gardens as proposed would be self-sufficient. Whereas the city has acquired 326 acres of park land over the last 6 years with a development cost of $20,000 to $30,000 per acre for a neighborhood park, development of community gardens at this location can be achieved through the CAC without cost to the city. And whereas the city has spent considerable amounts of money to acquire park area, it has spent nothing to acquire the Homestead area since land was first purchased for our Market Place in 1911. Data on visits to city park land is not available except for city beaches. For example, there were an estimated 1651 visits to the James Madison Park beach in 1996 over 79 days of peak use. For a 2.9 acre beach, this amounts to 7 visits/acre/day. (The park is altogether 13.3 acres.) This may be contrasted with the use of community gardens at the Homestead location. Assuming the average gardener visits 3 times per week, there would be 67 visits/acre/day, and the season for gardening is considerably longer. For the 1.7 acre Giddings Park, this would correspond to an average of 114 visits/day. Even on a nice day and even at sunset, I can usually have my choice of the two park benches at this location. I doubt that the average number of daily visits to Giddings approaches such a level, but I certainly hope that the city would not want to liquidate this asset merely because it's prime real estate. For the 3.6 acre Reynolds Field, the comparable number would be 241 visits/day. The actual visitation rate is probably not even a tenth that number.
But the community asset in question is not just open space under threat of appropriation. This was formerly our Market Place, the focus of the Victory Gardens of World War I which so effectively united our community. And the land which we now own was the Reynolds' family homestead for more than a century. In the heart of our historic district, at the time of year when our neighbors are moving in and out, we long for the image of the Reynolds' stability and tradition in this neighborhood. Our attachment to this land is a spiritual matter, an image and a feeling of hope. That's why so many area businesses and neighbors have united in the effort to preserve this asset for our neighborhood.
We have a special opportunity before us, to build community, to integrate our neighborhood, to foster a consensus for cooperation and mutual concern, bringing those who are young and old together, those with family and financial stability together with those who are without, in work and benefit. Because regardless of political perspective, of income or property, today as before, we all share in this which is fundamental to our lives: food. Like green space anywhere, as with urban gardens throughout the city and across the country, the disposition of this property involves the question of our quality of life, of our neighborhood as an attractive place to live. I hope to see you on the 8th of September!
(If you would like garden space next year, please contact Carl Andersson at 256-8290, Branden Born at 257-6625 or Andrea Noeske at 256-3433.)