GROW PARTNERS WITH BALLARD P-PATCH TO SAVE BELOVED COMMUNITY GARDEN

GROW is proud to partner with the Ballard P-Patch to achieve this major milestone and preserve green space throughout Seattle.

On August 31, 2020, GROW purchased the Ballard P-Patch from Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church making this the 7th property owned or co-owned by the nonprofit and allowing the Ballard P-Patch to remain a community garden.

The sale of the 0.66-acre parcel at Northwest 85th Street and 25th Avenue Northwest could not have been possible without a much-needed bridge loan through Verity Credit Union, who stepped in at the final hour. The $1.75 million dollar loan through Verity Credit Union provides breathing room for continued fundraising efforts while fulfilling contractual obligations to purchase the land.

“Our work is not done yet,” notes Cindy Krueger, Ballard P-Patch co-chair. “Some $300,000 remains to be raised and we still need our community and supporters to rally with us.”

In February 2019, Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church made the difficult decision to sell their property which it had leased for the last 44 years to the city for $1 per year. The property is one of 89 community gardens within Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch Program.

“GROW has been a strong advocate for and partner with the Ballard P-Patch for nearly its entire lifespan. The relationships that enabled the purchase of this important property

demonstrate what a community that works together can accomplish, even when at the outset it seemed like an impossible goal,” says Michelle Blume, President of GROW’s Board of Directors. “With green space disappearing so rapidly in our growing city, we couldn’t be more pleased that GROW was able to play an important part in the process alongside Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church and the community.”