A $300,000 Lowe's grant will turn the house at Alpharetta's Old Rucker Farm into a year-round education center, due to be finished by March 1, 2027.

The house at Old Rucker Farm will become a year-round classroom, paid for by a $300,000 grant from Lowe’s.

The City of Alpharetta’s Community Agriculture Program won the Lowe’s Community Impact Grant, the city said in a news release on Sept. 15. The money will renovate the farm’s existing house into a Community Education Center for children, families and adults. Construction is expected to be finished by March 1, 2027.

What the money pays for

The city said the project will bring the house up to code. The work includes:

  • new flooring
  • mechanical and electrical upgrades
  • a renovated bathroom
  • a renovated kitchen for hands-on cooking, nutrition and food preservation workshops

Once finished, the center will give the farm indoor space for sustainable agriculture classes, youth camps, nature-based learning and food preservation workshops all year.

“For years, we have envisioned the farm’s house as a place where people could come together to learn, create, share food and connect with the land,” said Amanda Musilli, the city’s community agriculture and sustainability manager. “Lowe’s is helping us turn that vision into a reality.”

City Council member John Hipes said: “This is an investment in much more than a building. It is an investment in people and in the future of our community.”

A longtime supporter of the program first pointed the team to the Lowe’s opportunity four years ago, the city said.

The grant comes from the Lowe’s Community Impact Program. The city describes it as part of the company’s five-year, $100 million commitment to renovating community spaces.

About Old Rucker Farm

Old Rucker Farm sits inside Old Rucker Park at 900 Rucker Road. The park is a 10.7-acre site that was once a commercial nursery, according to the city’s parks and facilities listing. One acre has been developed as the farm. The remaining nine-plus acres are set aside for a passive park that has not been built yet.

The farm is the home base of the city’s community agriculture program, started in 2018. It already has:

  • vegetable, fruit, flower and herb gardens, grown organically
  • community garden plots
  • a native pollinator garden
  • an orchard and a greenhouse
  • an apiary and a chicken coop
  • an outdoor classroom

The city adopted a City Agriculture Plan on Dec. 12, 2022, the same listing says. It sets out how agriculture and sustainability will be worked into the city over two to five years.

What it means for you

  • Classes at the farm are mostly outdoors now. From spring 2027, if the timetable holds, there will be an indoor space for cooking and preservation workshops, camps and classes in any weather.
  • Current classes and programs are listed on the Alpharetta Community Agriculture Program site.
  • The farm runs on volunteers. Families, individuals and groups can sign up for time slots through the city’s volunteer page.
  • For more places to get outside, see our guide to parks and trails.