Pittsburgh will soon be the home to the largest urban farm in the United States.
Located atop a107-acre piece of City property on the site of the former St. Clair Village public housing development, Hilltop Urban Farm will occupy 23 acres of farmland, with an additional 67 acres of hillside purposefully left undeveloped, 12 acres set aside for green spaces and other development, and 14 acres allocated for future housing.
Plans call for Hilltop Urban Farm to include a production farm, a farmer incubation program, greenhouses, compost processing, a community farm market, youth farm, events barn, and community plots. The farm is a project of Hilltop Alliance, a nonprofit and community reinvestment organization representing 11 South Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
To date, more than five acres have been cleared of brush to become farmland, including the laying of compost and planting cover crops such as rye, oats, and winter peas to prepare the soil for future farming. Clearing and soil amendment will continue in phases as old building foundations continue to be removed.
In a September 2017 ribbon cutting ceremony, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto stated, “I can’t imagine the last time that a mayor had the opportunity to cut a ribbon on a farm in the City of Pittsburgh, and not just a farm, but the largest urban farm in America.”
Read the full plan for Hilltop Urban Farm.
Media Contact:
Aaron Sukenik
Executive Director, Hilltop Alliance
412.586.5807
Hilltop.Alliance.Pittsburgh@gmail.com
