Core Orchards will include a parcel of land with a house and a vacant brick building on Charlevoix. Wollack said it plans to buy those structures and convert them to a cider mill and a cider house. Community garden plots would be behind the structures. The orchard will cover the remainder of the block down to Vernor Road.

Two blocks over between Coplin and Drexel is the former Carstens Elementary School, now stripped and dilapidated. Wallack said Wolverine hopes to eventually buy it from the Detroit Land Bank Authority.

Trees will be 3 to 4 years old when planted — to accelerate the growth timeframe. An irrigation system will be installed and, in the future, Wolverine hopes to offer a pick-your-own apples option.

"We hope to bring in people from all over but also provide access to the orchard to our current neighbors. Fresh fruit and produce will be offered at free and reduced prices," he said. "We plan to hire a director and farmer for the orchard." Additionally, the orchard will include a farmers market and raised planter beds.

So far, Wolverine has at least $370,000 in funding for the orchard and market. Fundraising yielded $165,000, the Michigan Department of Agriculture provided a $155,000 grant, and $50,000 is coming from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and crowdfunding from Patronicity. "We continue to go after other grants as we need $1 million for the whole project," he said.

Wolverine already bought nine parcels on Lenox for $100 a parcel from the Detroit Land Bank Authority. It would like to buy another nine parcels on Drexel from the land bank. "We've been mowing these parcels for the last 20 years," he said.

Because Wolverine Human Services is not in the apple orchard business, Wollack has hired an adviser. Isaiah Wunsch, a sixth-generation cherry and apple farmer with 600 acres of cherries and 100 acres of apples on the Old Mission Peninsula in northern Michigan, is providing guidance on how to prepare the site for planting, timeline requirements, materials and equipment. "I will make myself available after the orchard is planted to provide technical assistance on long-term management of the project," he said in an email.

His connection to the orchard came during the three years he worked for the MEDC and his participation in the Great Lakes Leadership Academy's Leadership Advancement Program last year.

"I think this project will be a great asset for Detroit and will create a stronger awareness of modern agriculture within our state's largest urban center — both of which I believe to be very positive outcomes."

Wunsch predicted success for Core Orchards, with one concern. "Production may exceed demand during the first year or two before residents realize that they have a u-pick apple orchard within biking distance of their homes," he said in the email. "This is a manageable challenge, but the orchard should produce between 100,000 and 250,000 pounds of apples per year once it is online, so it will be relatively large scale for an urban agriculture project."

Wolverine Human Services is a social services agency providing safety, food, nurturing and therapeutic intervention to children statewide. Its programs focus on teens suffering from the social injustices of abuse and neglect and those involved in delinquent activities. It operates a substance abuse treatment facility and residential treatment services.

Wolverine was founded by Wollack's father, Robert. The elder Wollack, 71, had a troubled past before starting the nonprofit that now services 550 children in 83 counties statewide and has an annual budget of $30 million. A book, They Will Be Victors, chronicles Robert Wollack's life.