About the Program:

The Growing Green program allows the general public to lease NORA property for uses such as community gardens, urban farming, and pocket parks. Approved applicants lease the property for up to three years and will have an option to purchase after the 3rd year, if they have successfully completed their proposed project and have been able to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the lease period. The properties are routinely inspected to confirm compliance and maintenance. Projects are processed on a rolling basis.

How to Get Started:

NORA recommends interested participants review the Growing Green program manual here <LINK PDF> before starting the site selection and project development processes.

Participants must first submit a “Garden/Greening Project” Expression of Interest (EOI) on the preferred available property through the NORA Property Search Tool. Users must be registered for a free One-Stop-Shop account before being able to submit EOIs.

Once submitted, NORA will process your EOI and reach out to project applicants. Eligible participants will be required to complete a detailed application and provide information regarding the proposed use. You can locate a blank application below but only project applications with fully submitted EOIs will be evaluated and considered for the program.

If your proposed project and its desired site meet the Growing Green criteria, NORA will move forward with executing the annual lease. The application, evaluation, and lease execution process collectively take about 1-2 months to complete.