Since March, South Austin–area residents have utilized an expanded community garden next to The Denizen Condominiums.

The 119-unit condo development, first started in 2012 and expected to be complete by October, was built at the site of a previously established quarter-acre community garden on land owned by Salvation Army. As part of a land sale agreement, the project's developers relocated the garden—soil and all—slightly south to create a larger South Austin Community Garden.

"That soil is magic," said Alan Hendrickson, a Denizen resident and the first to use the new garden. "I'm doing everything I'd do on my own, and it costs me a lot less," he said.

The Denizen provides garden tools and a shed for safekeeping. The condo has also planted peach, pear and plum trees and installed a new sidewalk in front of the garden, which is located off South Fifth Street.

The community garden, open to all area residents, has been so popular that there is a waiting list, said Teresa Holmes, sales associate at The Denizen and a certified master gardener who has taught classes to interested participants. She anticipates the garden will transition to fall crops in August or September.