Naomi Davis, the founder and CEO of Blacks in Green, told about 40 neighborhood residents who attended the event that the parcel request builds on more than a decade of work transforming neglected lots into spaces for community gathering and education.
A rendering of Blacks in Green's proposed mixed-use development for the vacant, city-owned lot at 6441 S. Cottage Grove Ave.“We understand it’s not ours, but it didn’t make sense from our perspective to cultivate two-thirds of it and leave the other as a nasty, vacant lot,” Davis said. Of the estimated $11.5 million cost for the Cottage Grove campus, Davis said the organization has secured about $2 million so far, including a $1.5 million state allocation directed by local state Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-3rd). “The city and the alder determine what the cost of the parcels will be. So, we don’t know the cost of that part of the process,” Davis said, noting that Blacks in Green is still raising the bulk of its financing.8 meeting, residents questioned how Blacks in Green would guarantee that its proposed gardens remain green space in the long term. Davis responded by pointing to the group’s track record, including its purchase of a parcel in 2015 where it planted a fruit and nut orchard alongside plans for affordable housing. Although she’s received numerous offers to sell the lot in the years since for a hefty profit, Davis said she hasn’t done so due to her commitment to the neighborhood.An environmental justice group is seeking to purchase four city-owned parcels in West Woodlawn to build affordable housing, cultural spaces and gardens that leaders say will strengthen the neighborhood against
