A plot of land that has been sitting vacant for two decades in East Oakland will soon be transformed into one of the area’s largest community gardens — a transitional step before the site is eventually turned into affordable housing, officials say.

Homies Empowerment, a grassroots community organization, recently signed a lease for the city-owned property to start the Freedom Garden. The site is near a busy corner at MacArthur Boulevard and 106th Avenue in East Oakland, which is predominantly populated by low-income Black and Latino residents and has long been considered a food desert, said the group’s co-founder, César A. Cruz.