A beloved community garden in Locust Point is giving away its bulbs and bushes this week after volunteers say the plot’s owner, Under Amour, gave them a deadline to move out....

The city’s Recreation and Parks Department under the direction of Director Reginald Moore cleared a section of Latrobe Park to become a new home for the community gardening program....

The new garden plot in Latrobe Park is not yet ready for planting, but volunteers are hoping to move swiftly so the soil can be seeded this coming spring, he said. The program leadership still needs to sign an agreement with the city to establish boundaries within Latrobe Park before it can install the water source, fencing and raised beds.

In the meantime, volunteers are distributing the remaining flora to other community gardening programs around town. Some trees, rosemary and strawberries have been sent to a West Baltimore plot. Perennials are being planted at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School. And the rose bushes and purple coneflowers are headed to other sections of Latrobe Park before the ground freezes for the winter.

“I’m on an emotional rollercoaster,” Arndt said. “It’s going to be a lot of work, but hopefully we can retain the community stuff around it [the garden]. It’s all about having neighbors know each other — and the more we know each other, the better we get along.”

The Locust Point Community Garden has until Dec. 15 to vacate its plot in South Baltimore — as land owner Under Armour has decided to sell the property — but the garden is expected to move to a nearby city park.

Garden manager Dave Arndt is in talks with city government to recreate the garden in a corner of Latrobe Park, about half a mile from the garden’s current home along Hull Street. But plenty of work remains.

The city’s Department of Recreation and Parks identified a section of Latrobe Park along Jones Street, between Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School and Banner Field, for a new community garden, said spokesman Kevin Nash.

Nash said the agency is permitting the community group to start using the space by Dec. 15, and plans to draft a formal agreement to be signed by both parties.

“The City has been in discussions about creating the garden space with necessary fencing, water access, and raised beds,” said Nash, adding that the department is receptive to the plans and will assist in ensuring necessary modifications are installed properly and safely by licensed contractors.

Garden volunteers think they will have to raise money so they can afford to fence the garden and make other enhancements, Arndt said.

While it’s exciting to have a new spot in Latrobe, Arndt said that doesn’t assuage his concerns about potentially losing another green space in the neighborhood..........

Locust Point residents are fighting Under Armour’s plans to leave a beloved community garden vulnerable to development when the sports brand sells off its headquarters property in the South Baltimore neighborhood.

The sports apparel and footwear maker plans to move to a new global base in Baltimore Peninsula by the end of next year. The company expects to sell buildings and undeveloped land it owns in Locust Point, including a five-year-old garden that recently was revived after being neglected during the pandemic.

Dozens of families and Under Armour workers tend flower and vegetable plots in the less than half-acre garden on Hull Street, where community members also have planted trees and blueberries and raise bees.

“People are very, very upset,” said Dave Arndt, a Locust Point resident and the garden’s volunteer manager. “Under Armour has always been a good partner with the garden. ... It’s a cherished resource in our neighborhood.”..........

Residents of the Locust Point neighborhood in Baltimore are up in arms because Under Armour, which has been headquartered there since 2011, plans to relocate and end its support of a cherished community garden it established on the property in 2018. Over 1,500 members of the community have signed a petition imploring the company to either negotiate for the new owner to preserve the 1/3 acre green space or donate it to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, Under Armour has not budged.

Under Armour now has a rare opportunity to exemplify the type of corporate character that it often preaches. The minimal and relatively inexpensive steps to ensure the new owners do not demolish the small community garden would be in line with its own “Home Field” pledge, which promises to protect the home you share and strive to leave it better than you found it. In a world full of whitewashing, greenwashing and now “sportswashing,” where consumers have grown increasingly skeptical of corporate pledges, wouldn’t it be refreshing to see a company actually live up to its purported values?.............

On a sunny March afternoon, the Locust Point Community Garden showed its first signs of bloom after a mild winter.

Little purple buds peeked out from a rosemary bush. Bees buzzed about four hives. Black-eyed Susans began to grow. One gardener had started planting vegetables for the spring and summer months.

At the thought of the space in full bloom, garden manager Dave Arndt let out a sigh. “It’s just so beautiful,” he said.

Community members say the garden, which sits between Haubert and Hull streets, has become a treasured hub for the neighborhood in recent years — but it is at risk.........

When Under Armour Inc. moves its headquarters to Port Covington, Locust Point will not only be losing its largest employer but it could also lose one of its only green spaces.

The Locust Point Community Garden has existed on land owned by the Baltimore sportswear maker for the last five years. In that time, the property has transformed from an overgrown lot to a garden with more than 60 beds that is serviced by 100 local households...........

Today is another installment in our series, Midday in the Neighborhood, which we produce in cooperation with WYPR's news partner, the Baltimore Banner.  The series examines issues facing some of Baltimore’s 278 different communities.

We turn our focus to Locust Point, and a community garden that is facing an existential crisis.

The Banner’s Cadence Quaranta reports that “Under Armour owns the garden plot located near its Tide Point headquarters. It opened it up to the community around 2018, but it expects to put the land on the market, according to a spokesperson. The sports apparel company is set to wind down operations in Locust Point and move to its new corporate headquarters in the Baltimore Peninsula by the end of next year.”

Tom speaks with Dave Arndt, the manager of the Locust Point Community Garden.

BALTIMORE — A green space is in jeopardy in Locust Point.

The garden on Hull Street was started in 2018 by Under Armour. It started with 10 plots free of charge for Under Armour employees and families in the area.

It has also grown to 40 plots and families can grow just about anything there. It's funded by Under Armour, the community and fundraising..........