FREMONT COMMUNITY GARDEN
Capital Area Development Authority, CA
Cleanup Grant
Preserving a Community Garden Takes Root
In a Former Brownfield
ADDRESS: Northwest Corner of 14th and Q Streets,
Sacramento, California 95814
PROPERTY SIZE: 0.44 acres
FORMER USES: Residential, community garden
CURRENT USES: Vacant
EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
The Capitol Area
Development Authority
received a $200,000 EPA
Brownfields Cleanup grant.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
City of Sacramento, Parks and Recreation Department,
Rembold Properties (15th & Q Limited Partnership),
Fremont Community Advisory Committee, California
Department of General Services, Sacramento City
Council, Local Businesses
For additional data and geographic information
for this and other Brownfields Grants, please
visit EPA's:
Envirofacts - vyww.epa.gov/enviro/html/bms/
bms query.html
Enviromapper - www.epa.gov/enviro/bf
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
The Fremont Community Garden is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Sacramento. The property was once a collection of
residential structures built between 1880 and 1920. Although it was purchased by the state forthe 1960 Capitol Area Plan, a commu-
nity garden was established on the property in the mid-1960s by local residents and workers. The former Ron Mandella Community
Garden was agarden for more than 30 years serving as a central gathering point for gardeners, residents, children, and state workers on
their lunch hour. The property was designated for housing in 1978, but remained undeveloped. In 2001, the Capitol Area Development
Authority (CADA) initiated residential development of the property. The announcement of the garden being converted to residential use
created a schism in the community. In 2002, the CADA, the City of Sacramento, and the State Department of General Services commit-
ted in perpetuity to retain 100 percent of the community garden square footage. In spite of this, an environmental site assessment
revealed that the soil was contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), lead and pesticides - creating another obstacle for the
community's effort to preserve the garden and central gathering place.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Removed and disposed of 1,700 cubic yards of contaminated soil and
replaced with clean soil suitable for gardening
• Preserved and enhanced an historic central community gathering place
• Leveraged approximately $423,000 for cleanup and redevelopment efforts
Construction underway at Fremont Community Garden.
OUTCOME:
The redevelopment of Fremont Community Garden has commenced, and with its own funding and additional funding to be provided by
the City of Sacramento, the developer of the adjacent Fremont Mews development, the general public, future community gardeners, and
a range of local businesses, an enhanced community garden is taking root on this former brownfield. The new garden will feature a
number of environmentally sustainable features including an all-organic requirement, various technologies to recapture rainwater and
channel it into the soil below the garden, etc. The garden will include 50 garden plots, (including four Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA)-accessible plots), ADA compliant walkways, compost bins, two orchards, public art, two entrances, decorative shrubs, and two
bocce ball courts. When the garden is complete in the fall of 2006, CADA will transfer ownership of the property to the City of
Sacramento, where it will become part of the city's Community Garden Program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 9 at (415) 947-8000
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