Oliver Development Proposal - Real Food Farm

There is a proposal on the table to purchase two large parcels of land in the 1400 and 1600 blocks of Ensor / Holbrook Streets. The proposal is for Real Food Farm, RFF, to relocate their farm and operations from the CliftonPark community to here in the Oliver community. However, *Oliver's Plan has a different vision. At present, they are seeking a letter of support from the community associations to give them "right of entry" in order to do tests on the soil. If the soil and feasibility tests pass inspection, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will pursue a sale of these parcels of land to Real Food Farm. We spoke to the Historic Oliver Community Association, H.O.C.A., one of the community associations in the community, and they stated that they have not given a letter of support for the following four reasons:

1. H.O.C.A. would like to bring it before the greater community to weigh in

2. Oliver has a Vision Plan that was accepted by the Baltimore City Department of Planning on October 10, 2024 that clearly outlines the community's vision for this space, as seen in Figures 1-4 below.

3. Oliver already has a farm, Oliver Community Farm (1325 N. Bond Street)

4. H.O.C.A. was not included in the subsequent conversations about this project after they had given their initial opposition (due to the Community Vision Plan)

The People's Association TPA, the other community association in the community, has given a letter of support to give Real Food Farm "right of entry" to do the soil testing, leading to the subsequent sale of the parcels.

*View parcels on Google Maps: 1400 Ensor Street and 1600 Ensor Street 

Please fill out the survey/petition to weigh in. Click here

What are your thoughts? Weigh in on the comments section below, or send your comments to info@baltimore-oliver.org

Are you a resident, property or business owner, or stakeholder in the community? Would you prefer that an RFP be put forth that align's with Oliver's Vision Plan?

Oliver Community Vision Plan Session - March 16, 2024

Figure 1: Area of Focus

1. 

   Page of the Oliver Vision Plan

Figure 2: Ensor Holbrook Multifamily Densification

Figure 3: Ensor / Holbrook intersection

Page 54 of the Oliver Vision Plan

Figure 4: Multi-Family Densification via Diverse Housing Types

VIEW THE FULL PLAN:

View the entire plan by clicking here.