Dear P Patch Community- EXCITING NEWS!
In partnership with Seattle Center, DON is thrilled to share with you the Mayor’s announcement that UpGarden P-Patch is being saved from immediate closure.
UpGarden will remain a public gardening space until Mercer Garage is repurposed or redeveloped.
According to the City of Seattle’s agreement with Arena Co., LLC, Mercer Garage will be maintained as a parking facility until light rail comes to Seattle Center. DON staff will work with Seattle Center to extend the existing Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to allow the garden to remain as long as Mercer Garage is still being used for current purposes.
A big THANK YOU goes to Robert Nellams, the director of Seattle Center, for negotiating with Arena Co., LLC to make this happen.
This is a great way to end 2019. The P-Patch team wishes you all a Happy New Year and Happy Community Gardening!
Kenya Y. Fredie
P Patch Program Supervisor
Office: 206.733.9243
Good news from the UpGarden this morning. Andrew Lewis was sworn in as a new City Council Member at the P-Patch. In his remarks, he said he talked with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to ask why the P-Patch at the Seattle Center was being thrown out for 100 parking spaces. He made the case that the P-Patch was more than 150 gardeners taking care of 90 plots but that it was a vigorous community that contributed a lot back to the neighborhood in philanthropy, good will, comraderie and open space, etc. in his words, "the UpGarden will be there as long as the parking garage stands.” Long live the UpGarden!
If you'd like to garden at one of Seattle's 90 P-Patches this year, check out the map that shows their locations here, and apply for a plot at one near you. You'll make new friends as well as raise healthy organic produce.