Community fruit grove on ATI property proposed for Brackenridge

In the coming years, Brackenridge residents might be able to walk to a community fruit grove and pluck an apple or plum from a tree along Stieren Avenue.

Councilman Dino Lopreiato is working to turn a vacant gravel lot into a hub for health and socialization.

As head of the Brackenridge Improvement Group, he is partnering with grassroots group Giving Grove to bring a community fruit orchard to the space.

“The property has been sitting empty for years,” Lopreiato said. “It looks bad, and it seems a shame that there’s nothing there. I thought it would be nice to turn it into a green space.”

The property, hemmed by Hathaway Street and Stieren and Nelson avenues, is owned by ATI. It was used for overflow parking for workers building the company’s hot strip mill in 2014.

ATI is open to donating the land as long as details can be worked out, officials said.

“As a longtime member of the Brackenridge community, ATI is eager to explore the possibility of putting this green space to use,” spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said. “We look forward to working with the borough team.”

The Kansas City-based Giving Grove is guiding the project. The group was founded in 2013 to make free fresh fruits available to the public, increase tree canopy and improve urban environments. They have helped to start 570 groves across the country.

According to the group, about 15 trees usually are planted in each orchard. They produce about 2,500 pounds of fruit a year — or more than 7,300 servings.

Across the lifespan of the trees, more than 52,000 pounds of fruit could be harvested, saving $131,000 in purchases.

Lopreiato said the empty property met stipulations for growing native fruits — apples, cherries, pears, peaches and plums — because it has full sun, a water source and will be used for donations.

Soil testing is required as are at least two dedicated stewards. Lopreiato will be seeking many volunteers to plant and prune the trees and bushes.

“I think people will love this,” he said. “You see community vegetable gardens, but you don’t see a fruit grove in the middle of a residential neighborhood often.”

Mayor Lindsay Fraser is excited to get to work.

“I think it’s great,” Fraser said. “I think we should grow a whole lot more of our own food than we do.”

The project is not expected to cost taxpayers anything.

Depending on available grants, additions could include benches and a pavilion for cooking demonstrations.

Lopreiato is eyeing an early spring start for the project.