That started to change for the Original American Foundation last year. The nonprofit purchased six lots from the Philadelphia Land Bank last spring \u2014 five along S. Allison Street and one on Paschall Avenue, where the greenhouse now stands.\n <\/p>\n
The land bank can transfer vacant lots to community gardens at discounted or nominal prices. But Patterson said the process was complicated and took years to complete.\n<\/p>\n
In 2022, City Council passed a resolution approving the land bank to dispose of the properties<\/a> Patterson had applied for. Almost two years later, he testified before a City Council committee <\/a>that he was still waiting for the process to move forward.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe got the resolution for [the lots], but it just stopped at the resolution,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re still confused as to what happens next.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Land bank spokesperson Jamila Davis said it took over a year for the city-owned parcels to be transferred into the land bank after the project was approved, then the Original American Foundation required time to review the purchase agreement before signing it.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe application itself was very, very complicated,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cI speak English, but I don\u2019t speak legalese.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The nonprofit turned to the Public Interest Law Center for help navigating the legal documents, Patterson said.\n<\/p>\n The Original American Foundation then found a title company familiar with the land bank\u2019s process through another community garden, the C\u00e9sar Andreu Iglesias Community Garden in the Norris Square neighborhood of North Philadelphia.\n<\/p>\n
![\"Jovian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/orignal-american-foundation-garden-SS-011626-01-1024x768.jpeg\")
Original American Foundation co-founder Jovian Patterson stands next to a lot the nonprofit uses for events. (Sophia Schmidt\/ WHYY)\n<\/p>\n