Largest U.S. hydroponic commercial greenhouse coming to Monroe County, N.Y.
Staff Writer |
The nation's largest hydroponic commercial greenhouse will locate its operations in Monroe County, N.Y.
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Clearwater Organic Farms will build a 15 acre, 650,000 square-foot facility at Eastman Business Park. The company will produce fresh, locally grown, organic baby leaf greens year round.
The project will create 137 new full-time jobs, most of which will be in packaging, shipping, receiving and warehousing and 55 of those jobs are reserved for veterans or those who are underemployed to support the region's anti-poverty agenda.
The on-site process will use Hydroponics to offer a fresh organic alternative to current market supplies.
It intends to build a clonable, scalable and sustainable food source system that can be replicated throughout the United States and the world.
The project will also be a significant user of the onsite RED Utilities at Eastman Business Park. The state of the art facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
In order to encourage Clearwater Organic Farms to build in the Finger Lakes region, Empire State Development has offered up to $4 million in Upstate Revitalization Initiative funding and $2 million in Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits, which are tied to the commitment to create more than 135 new jobs.
The total project cost is approximately $50 million. Supporting the economic redevelopment of Eastman Business Park and tackling the roots of poverty are among the top priorities of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council and the region's Finger Lakes Forward Initiative.
The controlled environmental agriculture facility uses 90 percent less water than field grown alternatives, 20 percent of the land, and uses sophisticated computer systems to control plant growing conditions, plant quality and energy usage.
Clearwater Organic Farms is an indoor facility and is a fully vertically integrated operation with seeding, growing, harvesting, washing, packaging and cold storage on site. ■