OAK PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A transformative project in Oak Park is months away from opening its doors, promising to become a year-round hub for food entrepreneurs and urban farmers, among many other uses.
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The Elevate Oak Park project's event hub is taking shape as a four-season facility that will house a banquet and meeting space, a commercial kitchen, and a year-round farmers' market. Phase one of the project is set for completion in June.
The commercial kitchen space has already caught the attention of local residents like Kennedy Taylor, who has been watching construction unfold from her neighborhood.
"The design is amazing. It reminds me of Eastern Market," Taylor said. "My mom is interested in upgrading the business. She makes homemade salsas. So the fact that we have a commercial kitchen that's available for rental would be amazing for her, for her being able to scale up the business."
City leaders envision the space becoming a hub of access for urban farmers and food entrepreneurs. They hosted leaders with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and a group of local agricultural advocates for a sneak peek of the developing facility.
"It's a perfect opportunity with this space and other resources that we have here in our city to really make friends with that burgeoning group and move it forward," City Manager Erik Tungate said.
Romando Woods II, founder of Urban Youth Agriculture and a Detroit-based urban farmer, sees potential for educational opportunities at the new facility. His organization teaches the next generation of young farmers.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Multiple projects are underway across Oak Park to build community spaces
"We could utilize this space to now take some of the produce from their school garden and actually make items here, such as, like, jellies, jams, things like that," Woods said.
The project has garnered support from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which awarded a $250,000 grant to help fund the initiative.
“The work here with the community center, of some of these incubator kitchens, some of the increased availability of farm market programs here to residents, it's well aligned with this ongoing mission we have of improving the market conditions for agriculture in all the different ways all across the states," said Tim Boring, MDARD director.
MDARD also hosted a roundtable to hear directly from agriculture stakeholders and shared hopes for increased funding from the upcoming 2027 budget to create the FarmStart program.
“FarmStart is an example of the intentional investments we’ve prioritized at MDARD under Gov. Whitmer’s leadership,” said Boring. “With bipartisan support in the next fiscal budget, FarmStart will build on the success of our Farm to Family Program by coordinating and centralizing resources for the next generation of farmers and agricultural professionals to ensure our food, forestry, and agriculture industry remains a powerhouse force in Michigan.”
Boring says FarmStart would house a beginning farmer resource hub to centralize existing local, state, and national resources related to agricultural education, land access, and farm financing. The hub will also connect beginning and next-generation farmers and agricultural professionals to existing departmental programs like the Farm to Family Program and Regenerative Agriculture Program.
Urban farmer and Oak Park resident Chris Chiaravalli says he appreciated being in the room.
“It also was a good opportunity to interface with some of the people in the government that make decisions that would affect me and my friends and my colleagues,” said Chiaravalli.
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