Three Hartford properties are slated to be repurposed into working urban farms in an effort to find new uses for vacant lots and alleviate food deserts in the city.
Parcels located at 53 Benton St., 176 Clark St., and 138 Irving St. will be converted for urban agriculture.
The Hartford Lank Bank owns the vacant properties, all of which once housed structures that were torn down due to blight or unsafe conditions.
“The city gave us a number of vacant lots deemed unsuitable for development but have other potential uses,” said Arunan Arulampalam, CEO of the Hartford Land Bank. “We’ve been knocking on doors and asking neighbors what they would like to see on them. These are areas that are considered food deserts where there’s not a lot of green space.”
The Hartford Land Bank identifies and acquires vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties in the city to help rehabilitate and return the properties into community assets including gardens, open land, and urban farms.
“Turning formerly blighted, unused and unusable plots of city land into working urban farms and community gardens is a great way to give those parcels a functional use in a sustainable manner,” Arulampalam said.
Arulampalam said that research shows beautifying vacant spaces also has an impact on cutting crime in neighborhoods and creating neighborhood pride.
“Studies show it can lead to almost a 30% reduction in violent crime,” Arulampalam said. “We wanted a plan that would reduce crime while also creating businesses in the community. Each of the three lots will be sold to a specific urban farmer. We will sell the property to them and their business. These farmers have both security plans in place for their crops and sustainable business models.”
Herb Virgo, founder of the Keney Park Sustainability Project, is coordinating with the Land Bank to select the three farmers to purchase the lots. The farmers must be local and must submit a detailed business and safety plan for the properties. Much of the food grown will be resold in the community at local farmers markets and grocery stores.
“Having beautiful green spaces connects people to the nature around them. The growing of food is so important but also so lacking in Hartford,” Arulampalam said.
The concept of urban farming as a solution to hunger has taken off within the last few decades.
LEVO International, a nonprofit using hydroponic farming in Hartford, has around 30 urban farmers in the city growing crops from their own backyards. Hydroponic farming involves plants growing in a nutrient solution rather than soil. Oftentimes plants are grown in PVC pipes, which makes urban farming possible since land is often scarce.
“Converting space into agricultural space is empowering people to gain that food independence while also gaining economic opportunities,” said Christian Heiden, founder of LEVO International.
“Land is scarce in Hartford,” Heiden said. “So we applaud any effort to maximize urban farming and agriculture. It’s exciting to see there’s energy behind urban farming here. We applaud these efforts.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
