This started with a piece of land we were watching slip away.
We're Blake and Edward, and we live on this land.
We didn't set out to create Farm Park or make a nonprofit. We just wanted to take care of the land and keep it from disappearing.
We thought we had secured the land.
Then we lost it.
A few years ago, we had the chance to secure a much larger portion of the property. We worked to get a deal signed with a partner and thought it was done…
Then it fell through. The land was sold to an out-of-state developer with plans to turn it into high-end housing.
So we stayed in it. We negotiated, adapted, and secured the first two acres – that was enough to begin.
2 acres secured
Actively negotiating for the remaining 17 acres before development claims them.
"This is a rare chance to shape the future of one of the last significant open spaces on The Ridge."
– Ashley Raymond, President Emeritus at Missionary Ridge Neighborhood Association
Most parks are limited to when and how you can enjoy them. This one is designed to be a part of your daily life.
Not just green space, but a place that actually supports the people who live around it and the animals who currently reside there. A place with food, education, and shared space built into the landscape. A place people can use, contribute to, and feel connected to over time.
Food Access
A living food forest people can walk through, learn from, and harvest from year after year.
Education
Outdoor learning spaces for local schools and families built into the landscape itself.
Community
Gathering spaces, local vendors, and room for culture to grow alongside the plants.
This is personal to us. East Lake is a neighborhood of the future.
Nearly 35% of residents are under 15. Almost half are under 21. These are the people this land is for.
We believe in Chattanooga.
We believe it's one of the most beautiful, biodiverse, community-rich places in the world. Over 3,000 nonprofits. Neighbors who show up. People with good hearts who, if they work together, can genuinely redefine what a city looks like.
Farm Park is our bet on that belief.
We met with the community, then planted a cherry tree as a promise to our community’s kids.
We put in blueberries so anyone could forage like a little bear, walking around plucking fruit straight from the plant, welcomed into the natural world right outside their door.
We carry this work through our nonprofit, Luthe Land Legacy.
Farm Park is a project of Luthe Land Legacy, the nonprofit we founded to hold land, bring together people and resources, and create the conditions for projects like this to take shape over time.
We live on this property, it is our backyard. We are not managing it from a distance. We are on the land every day, building relationships with local organizations, schools, and technical partners who are already invested in the future of this area.
When we secure the land, this becomes something much larger.
A space shaped by and for the community. A place that grows in value over time, environmentally, socially, and economically. A model other cities can study, adapt, and build on.
What happens here can influence how communities across the country approach land, development, and shared space going forward.
The land is within reach.
If you want to be part of building a better future for this community and setting a new standard for what green spaces can be, this is your opportunity.
We've already put years into this. The partnerships are in place. The land is within reach.
What happens next depends on the people who step in now.
