POCATELLO — For years, the patch of city-owned land directly north of the Water Department on Arthur Avenue has sat empty, flat, unremarkable and largely ignored. No crops. No flowers. No people. Just an acre of nothing with a short stub of a street called King running through it.

That changes Friday.

At noon, a group of volunteers, city officials and community members will gather at the corner of King Street and North Arthur Avenue for the groundbreaking ceremony of Pocatello's first community garden — a long-anticipated project years in the making that is now, finally, becoming real.

"I am so excited about this," said Marjanna Hulet, a self-described master gardener and volunteer with the startup behind the endeavor, the Pocatello Community Garden Group. "We've wanted a community garden for so long. This gives people who don't have garden space — like our college students or people living in apartments — a way to garden. They can have their own little vegetable patch, go pick their own green beans."

She continued, "This is a great thing for Pocatello, but we hope this is the first of many."

The project has been in the making for quite some time Hulet said, describing an effort that has involved navigating the usual challenges of a community-driven project — finding the right property, lining up a legal entity to sign the lease, and securing funding. What moved it across the finish line was a combination of the right people, the right nonprofit and a $1 lease agreement the Pocatello City Council unanimously approved during its May 7 meeting.

Leading the charge has been Brittany Hobson, a local realtor who has served as the de facto head of the volunteer working group.

The group partnered with Portneuf Valley Partners — a city beautification nonprofit that has been around for years and played a hand in projects including Brooklyn’s Playground, the major city entrances and, among several others, the annual Portneuf Valley Clean Up — to sign the lease agreement with the city, given that the garden group itself isn't yet a legal entity.

Hobson also secured a $10,000 grant to cover the initial ground preparation work, with additional grants already applied for, Hulet said.

"Brittany has been working on it for a while," Hulet said. "She's got a great group of people working with her. I just came on board back in October."

Hulet was sold on the idea after she accompanied Hobson to a Neighbor Works community development conference in Minneapolis, where the pair visited one of the few remaining Victory Gardens — the kind that were common across the country during World War II.

"That's when I said, 'Oh, I've got to help. I've got to get on board with this,'" Hulet said.

The garden will be located on about half an acre of the city-owned parcel — approximately 453 feet by 95 feet — situated directly across the Portneuf River from Sacajawea Park, with the city's trail running through the area. The location is close enough to town that it's accessible, remote enough that it still feels like a place to escape.

Hulet thinks the name practically writes itself.

"I think we should call it the King Arthur Garden," she said, "because it's on the corner of King and Arthur."

Getting it ready for gardeners will take all summer. The tasks ahead include leveling the ground, installing water infrastructure, laying out the individual plots and carving out pathways.

The plan calls for a series of 10x10 and 10x15 planting plots — available to community members for $50 annually, water included — along with a tool shed where gardeners can borrow equipment, four community planters and designated plots where produce will be grown specifically for the local food bank.

A Phase 2 portion of the larger parcel down the road expands the vision further — a neighborhood orchard, shade trees, a covered gazebo and gathering area.

"We hope to eventually have some fruit trees, some shade and cooking tables," Hulet said. "But the big thing we want to do right now is get the ground flattened and get the water in."

Community gardens are not a new concept, just somewhat forgotten. They were common during World War II when Victory Gardens popped up as a way for residents to supplement the food supply during wartime rationing, said Hulet, adding that the idea has long been included in the city's comprehensive plan as something Pocatello residents wanted to see return.

The appeal is broad. For apartment dwellers with no yard of their own. For college students who want something to tend. For anyone who has ever looked at a grocery store tomato and thought, I could do better than this.

"This is a place where people can garden — where they will have their own little plot, a little chunk of land where they can grow vegetables and strawberries and raspberries, or whatever they want to grow," Hulet said. "Pocatello has wanted one of these for a long time."

Hulet said the Pocatello Community Garden Group is in the process of writing bylaws to create a formal management and operation structure. In the meantime, she offered a straightforward thank-you to the nonprofit that helped make the leap from concept to construction possible.

"The group wants to throw out a huge kudos and thank you to Portneuf Valley Partners for its work and support on this endeavor," she said.

Friday's groundbreaking ceremony begins at noon at the corner of King Street and North Arthur Avenue, directly north of the Pocatello Water Department. The entire community is invited.

Those interested in learning more or following the project's progress can find the Pocatello Community Garden Group on Facebook.