Vacant Building To Be Restored As Urban Farm Resource Center

DETROIT (AP) - Volunteers and businesses are helping to restore a three-story vacant building that will house a community resource center across from an urban garden north of downtown Detroit.

The 3,200-square-foot center will offer educational programming and event and meeting space. It will serve as operational headquarters for the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative.

Two commercial kitchens will be constructed in the building and an adjacent healthy food cafe also is planned.

The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative bought the building several years ago at auction. The restored building and cafe are expected to be unveiled in May.

The two-acre urban garden features a 200-tree fruit orchard and provides free produce to about 2,000 homes in the area. The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative says Wednesday that the project is an alternative neighborhood growth model.