East Price Hill eco project puts down roots
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Growing Value nursery manager Howie Zuefle shows a new volunteer around the greenhouse. Photos: Kristen Swilley/Axios
A well-traveled corner in East Price Hill is getting another chance to grow after the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute took ownership of properties around West Eighth Street and Enright Avenue.
Why it matters: This creates a permanent home for its Growing Value nursery and space for a new neighborhood gathering hub.
State of play: Growing Value has been around for roughly 15 years, nursery manager Howie Zuefle tells Axios, and moved to East Price Hill about five years ago.
- The institute leased space there for several years before buying it this spring.
Zoom in: The corner itself has already lived a few lives.
- The building at West Eighth and Enright was formerly Common Roots and, more recently, a bar called Casey’s Corner.
- Now CPI wants another fresh start, with workshops, potlucks, music and potentially tea and locally made goods downstairs.
- Upstairs, an apartment houses interns who can learn from and contribute to the work happening around the property.
Yes, but: The new beginning requires some tending.
- Zuefle says the building needs roof work and a new cooling system. The nonprofit is exploring grants and fundraising.
Context: CPI isn't planting itself in unfamiliar soil. The properties are connected to the Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage and a much longer history of environmental work in this pocket of East Price Hill, including nearby ecological organization Imago.
- Zuefle says that history — plus neighbors already growing tomatoes and other food around their homes — gives the project something to build upon.
What's next: There's no rigid five-year plan. Zuefle's hope is to make the corner a "resiliency hub" where people can gather, learn and get their hands dirty.
The bottom line: After a succession of names and uses at West Eighth and Enright, CPI is betting the corner's next chapter can put down roots.
