The Hop Yard 
The site houses numerous rundown structures, with roughly three sections of buildings all with needs of repair. Beyond the buildings, the sites landscape is a relatively flat gravel lot, with numerous areas being covered in a mess of straw and overgrown greenspace. The neighboring community around finds itself as substantially residential, with parks scattered throughout. Notably, a block north lies the large Franklin Conservatory Park, and to the immediate south of the site lies Rainbow Park. The housing in the immediate region are generally lower income, but half a mile due east lies Bexley, which is higher income housing options as well as Capital University.
sketch of site
South entrance for parking
Restaurant
We identified the lack of grocery stores and healthy restaurants in the area as a large problem and one that should be at the forefront of our design. With the site being centrally located to a large amount of residential, we decided that not only could we offer a place that provides a space to grow healthy, locally sourced food for the surrounding residents, but also become a center of local commerce and social activity.
The negative impact of constructing new buildings on the site helped shape our philosophy toward development. We tried to utilize the shells of the preexisting buildings and repurpose the core. With the old train car shed, we envision a reinvention of the car stalls to house small vendors and create an indoor, 
locally sourced market. The eastern most portion of the site is repurposed as a community garden space that utilizes the old structures as indoor greenhouses and storage for the adjacent gardens. On the interior of the site, we made a brewery that uses the old brick walls of the middle structure to produce interior dining and exterior biergartens. The brewery uses an adjacent hop yard to offset the amount of outside ingredients it will need to ship in. A small, farm-to-table restaurant allows for a family friendly dining experience while the brewery can serve as a place for social exchange.
Our group made a design choice to not include public, onsite parking to discourage non-local patronage. Street side parking is available for those that need to drive, but the permeability of the site encourages local residents to walk. The Hop Yard is designed with the local population in mind and we felt that this small inconvenience allowed for a more community friendly place and at the same time avoids the harmful effects associated with car use. The site is serviced by a bus station (COTA 11) across the street, encouraging public transportation use.
The Hop Yard is designed to be a connecting part of a larger movement of smaller community gardens in the area. Growing Hearts and Hands Community Garden is just one of many community gardens that The Hop Yard can foster relationships with and begin to develop a new identity for the East Side of Columbus, with our site being the central hub.
Pros
Brings a liveliness to the community as a whole
Provides a relative food source
Stimulates local economy
Gives community identity
Cons
Causes commercial activity in a residential area
Could possible cause gentrified areas local to the site