Editor’s Note: The folks who organize Plotland have come to an agreement with the owners of the property since this story was first published. They can stay, but the owners have asked that the space not be used for social gatherings because of liability concerns.

There are something like 40,000 vacant lots in Philadelphia and bad things tend to happen in them. But the work of two West Philly women and a cadre of volunteers has turned one of those lots into a thriving community space nicknamed “Plotland.”

Located on the northeast corner of 44th and Locust, Plotland has gone from a weed-filled, garbage-strewn mess to a mosaic of raised beds with everything from kale and tomatoes to flowers.

If you have walked by that corner in recent weeks you have no doubt seen it take shape. Folks hang out there now, often on the brick patio complete with used lawn furniture. A young girl in the neighborhood recently had her birthday party there. The space is useful again.

That was the idea all along, said Amanda Sebald, who along with Geraldine Lavin began organizing Plotland in earnest in early spring.

“What we are on our way to creating is a lot that is everyone’s not just ours,” said Sebald.

Sebald and Lavin each had been thinking about a possible use for the space, which is privately owned (more on that later) and nearby the small commercial strip that includes Evan’s Pizza, Koch’s Deli, CVS, Cafe Clave, a laundromat and the nearby Penn Alexander School. A lot of foot traffic passes by each day and the lot gets a lot of sun – two important factors for a community space that is built around getting volunteers to help grow things.

Great idea right? OK, the only chink in the plan is that what is going on at Plotland is kind of like squatting (more specifically, “guerilla gardening“), though that lot has been vacant for several years. As mentioned earlier, the land is privately owned so Plotland’s long-term existence is still in question. To help garner support, Plotland organizers are throwing a potluck fundraiser Saturday, June 11. Attendees are asked to bring a dish and a few bucks to kick in to help the project continue.

So far community donations have brought in bricks for the patio, soil for the raised beds and even the bottom half of a mannequin now used as a plant stand. Most important of all, though, is the help people have offered – everything from weeding and planting to bricklaying and hauling – to take the lot from an eyesore to a community resource with heaps of potential.

“A big part of asking people to contribute different things is so they feel ownership,” Sebald said.

For more information go to Plotland’s Facebook page. Or better yet, just stop by.