Columbia’s ten-acre Agriculture park on West Ash includes production fields, a food forest and a greenhouse. However, it doesn’t have a welcome center yet.
Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) executive director Billy Polansky appeared Saturday on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program. He says four bids came in and that the low bid was about $4.7 million:
“It’s an 11,000 square foot building. It’s going to have office space, a commercial kitchen, event space and a resource library as well,” Polansky says.
Mr. Polansky says that when people arrive at the park, they’re unsure if they can even be there, saying this will be a front door for the park. People will be able to take a tour by going into the welcome center, and they’ll also be able to sign up for CCUA programs.
The Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture is now in its 17th year, and its mission is feeding and educating our community. Mr. Polasnky describes the ten-acre Agriculture park at Columbia’s Clary-Shy as unique:
“That partnership between Columbia Parks and Rec and the Columbia Farmers Market and CCUA is really kind of magical, because we can teach people while they’re there to shop for the market. It’s a city park with a playground,” Polansky says.
The ten-acre Columbia agriculture park is open year-round for you to enjoy. Mr. Polansky also updated listeners on the “food as medicine” and produce prescription programs. You can hear Fred Parry’s full interview with CCUA’s Billy Polansky here.
