Councilmember Valerie Ervin Joins Department of Parks, 7-Eleven for King Street Community Garden Groundbreaking

Release ID: 11-093
Release Date: 4/20/2011
Contact: Kelli Holsendolph 301-650-2866 or Neil H. Greenberger240-777-7939
From: Office of Valerie Ervin

At 10 a.m. on Wed., April 20, Community Leaders Will Get Started on Silver Spring Garden That Was 2 Years in Making

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 19, 2011—Montgomery County Council President Valerie Ervin, who represents District 5 that includes Silver Spring, Wheaton, Kensington and Takoma Park, at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20, will join the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), the Montgomery County Department of Parks, representatives from 7-Eleven and other community leaders for the groundbreaking of the new King Street Community Garden located at 7875 Eastern Avenue in Silver Spring.

The opening of the community garden location is more than two years in the making. Council President Ervin’s leadership was instrumental to making the location available to the public. Ervin worked with all parties to secure a three-way lease agreement finalized in March between the Department of Parks, 7-Eleven and the Maisel Development Company, which had plans to develop the site for other uses.

The garden will open mid-April, weather permitting.

The King Street Community Garden will join nine other community garden locations managed by the Montgomery County Department of Parks, including two other recent additions on Montgomery County Public Schools land.

The parks department is now accepting applications for its lottery for gardening at the King Street location. The site will offer at least 20 plots, each 200 square feet in size, for an annual fee of $30 per plot. A lottery application for gardening at the King Street location for the 2011 season is available online at www.ParksCommunityGardens.org.

Among the other groups expected to be represented at the groundbreaking are Montgomery College, Silver Spring Green, the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association, IMPACT Silver Spring, the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, the Silver Spring Urban District Advisory Committee, the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board and the Silver Spring Regional Center Last edited: 12/23/2009