Apartments Set to Grow Where Farm Once Flourished

Monday, June 3, 2013, by Curbed Staff

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Hayes Valley Farm cleared out for good this weekend to make way for the rise of a 182-unit mixed-use development on Laguna Street between Fell and Oak street. The 2.2 acre erstwhile urban farm popped-up in 2009 with a temporary lease from the city to make use of Parcel O and Parcel P, the latter being largest site cleared by the demolition of the Central Freeway's Fell Street off-ramp and the location of the 205,000 square foot project under development by Avalon Bay Communities and Build Inc.

More on the transition and renderings this way. >>

Naturally the farm couldn't couldn't go down without a fight; on closing day Hayeswire reported that a crew of 30 protesters affiliated with Occupy Oakland attempted to 'liberate the land' in solidarity with the protesters at Istanbul's Gezi Park. The farm's leadership is looking forward to liberating land elsewhere in the city with a goal of creating 49 Farms, one for each square mile of the city.

In the meantime, Pyatok Architects are hard at work leading Parcel P's design with associate architects Kennerly and Jon Worden collaborating to create distinct flavors for the site's 4 buildings. Completion is still optimistically estimated for next year, but with the smell of fava beans still wafting through the neighborhood that seems like a stretch. - Laura Tepper