August 15, 2026 | For Immediate Release
Wilkinsburg, PA – Marking a major win for Pittsburgh-area urban agriculture, Three Rivers Agricultural Land Initiative (TRALI) completed the full, permanent protection of the Garden Dreams Urban Farm & Nursery in Wilkinsburg in August 2026.
Home to Grow Pittsburgh’s USDA-certified organic farm and greenhouse, Garden Dreams has nourished the community for more than two decades, producing 35,000 seedlings annually to sell and donate to urban farmers, schools, community gardeners and home growers throughout the community. Additionally, the site provides opportunities for workforce development and educational programming.
“We’re thrilled to see Garden Dreams’ future secured. This represents the next step forward to realizing the true potential of the Wilkinsburg hub. We will be able to expand our ability to get more food into the hands of those in need, provide more opportunities for education and training, and continue being a community resource for all urban growers and our neighbors alike.” Grow Pittsburgh Executive Director Denele Hughson said.
TRALI is a joint venture between Grow Pittsburgh and Allegheny Land Trust (ALT). By utilizing both organizations’ strengths, the initiative creates the stability necessary to foster a vibrant, sustainable urban agriculture movement in the Pittsburgh region by removing the threat of future sales of agricultural lands for other development purposes and creating opportunities to expand urban agriculture. TRALI protected sites are owned and permanently conserved by ALT, while Grow Pittsburgh provides support for gardens.
Through TRALI projects, ALT aims to extend the benefits of permanently conserved green space to neighbors in the Greater Pittsburgh Region. These small green spaces not only serve the growers and recipients of food from these spaces, but also the surrounding community benefiting from more protected impervious surface, more tree cover, more neighborhood beautification and more habitat for flora and fauna within the city.
Previously owned and operated as a private business by Grow Pittsburgh co-founder Mindy Schwartz since the early 2000s, the urban farm and nursery was a treasure in the local urban agriculture community. Its permanent conservation occurred over three acquisitions.
1. 2019: Schwartz donated her privately owned parcels to TRALI.
2. 2022: An adjacent, vacant, and tax-delinquent corner parcel—eligible for the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County’s (RAAC) Vacant Property Recovery Program (VPRP)—was acquired and preserved.
3. 2026: The final parcel, also vacant and tax-delinquent, was secured through RAAC’s VPRP, completing the full protection of Garden Dreams Urban Farm & Nursery.
“Garden Dreams represents an extraordinary occasion to build and sustain a resilient food system for all. A food system that provides security and opportunity to growers of all types and continues to connect people through food,” said Grow Pittsburgh Executive Director Denele Hughson. “Garden Dreams will serve as an urban agriculture hub for our neighbors, the next generation of urban growers, and the region. I am amazed by our community coming together to support benefits of growing and eating your own food.”
With the land now permanently conserved, Grow Pittsburgh is embarking on a visioning process to shape the farm’s future, deepening its role as a food security anchor, a workforce development asset, an educational resource and a community gathering space.
“Garden Dreams has long stood as a vibrant food hub, providing benefits in and beyond Wilkinsburg’s border,” ALT President & CEO Carrie Gilbert said. “We can’t wait to see how Grow Pittsburgh and the neighborhood continue to grow this legacy together, and we look forward to supporting those efforts.”