In West Philadelphia, a garden shaded by development

James Seward, the son of a South Carolina sharecropper, stayed connected to his roots through a vacant lot next to his West Philadelphia home where he cleared the brush and planted collards and cabbage, giving away what his family couldn't eat.

But a few years ago, the lot was bought by a developer. A vinyl-sided home, the kind shooting up all over the neighborhood of West Powelton, grew in its place. Seward began volunteering at the community garden across the street.

Now developers are eyeing that land, too.

It's not the only garden facing potential closure in the rapidly developing area, which has been identified as one in need of community-garden preservation by a nonprofit devoted to the cause.

Seward and the other caretakers at Wiota Street say they have fended off threats before. But this time, with scant details from the city agency that owns the land, they say things feel more dire.

"I would feel closed in, locked in, blocked in," Seward said of losing another garden. "And you know, that's the biggest thing for me, the green space."

The large lot at the corner of Wiota Street and Powelton Avenue, which is owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, was vacant when John Lindsay moved onto the block in the early 1980s.

Lindsay, sitting in the garden last week at a table with tool storage below and a Plexiglas counter for the garden's farm stands on top, said he started the garden in 1984 to build community.

"We were all in the garden together. Mr. Willie," Lindsay said, pointing across the street to a home that has long had a different owner, then nodding down the block with each name. "Mary Collins. Leo Butler. He was mean as a snake. He became my best friend."

Unlike a traditional community garden with neighbors claiming their own plots, Wiota Street is designed to grow as much produce as possible.

The sweet, green, and jalapeño peppers are in plot three; celery, rhubarbs, and beans are in plot four; flowers are in plot five; and turnips are in plot six. A peach tree anchors the property. Compost bins run along one wall, and a grape arbor stands near the Powelton Avenue fence. Herbs, marked with colorful signs painted by students from a local charter school, are in the far corner.

From April to September nearly 275 people volunteered here, according to a log Lindsay keeps.

The harvest is sold at a Sunday farm stand, with the proceeds going to run the garden, Lindsay said. He takes anything left over to local food banks and homeless shelters.

"I figured it out, a better way to do it," Lindsay said of the approach. "You get 10 times as much food and no mess and no meetings and no dues. More food. More fun."

In 2014, as developers first showed interest in the property, Lindsay took steps to protect the site. He gathered 200 signatures and enlisted the Neighborhood Gardens Trust, a nonprofit that helps preserve community gardens by holding the titles.

Their application was not approved, but neither was the developer's.

Jenny Greenberg, the trust's executive director, said last week that the group was still willing to hold the title, should the neighborhood be in support and the authority be willing to give up the land. The garden is in one of five areas where the trust has prioritized acquiring new gardens, based on factors like real estate market pressure and limited access to green space and supermarkets.

Greenberg said that down the block from Wiota Street another garden recently faced potential closure when the property was put up for a sheriff's sale. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who oversees the district, intervened, providing a short-term fix, Greenberg said.

"This is a really important time in Philadelphia for [the trust] and gardeners and the City of Philadelphia to work together to preserve these spaces," she said. "Because they do provide many social, economic, and environmental benefits to the city."

Lindsay said he heard rumors that developers were again interested in Wiota Street last month, but he has been unable to get details from the Redevelopment Authority or Blackwell.

Jamila Davis, a spokeswoman from the authority, said last week that there were active bids for the property but declined to say how many or name the bidders, citing the agency's policy of keeping bidders confidential.

In the past, officials from the authority have said they would not sell the property without Blackwell's blessing. That is in line with the unwritten authority that council members have over the use of city-owned land in their districts, known as councilmanic prerogative.

Last week, Blackwell said she was aware of several interested bidders.

"Some want to do housing," she said. "Some want mixed use. Some are willing to have the community own part of it and garden for part of it."

She said she would hold a community meeting before moving forward.

"My intention is to let them decide," Blackwell said. "I'm always for the community deciding."

Hearing that, Lindsay said it put him at ease - to a point.

He is holding a rally at the garden at 4 p.m. Sunday, which he expects will show the neighborhood's support.

But looking around his neighborhood, where homes are being torn down and lots cleared to make way for student housing, he said that even if these developers move on, others will be in line.

tnadolny@phillynews.com

215-854-2730@TriciaNadolny