A 100,000 square feet hydroponic farm is planned for a rooftop space in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park— and it is thought this will be the largest rooftop farm in the world. The state-of-the-art greenhouse is being built by BrightFarms, Inc. in partnership with Salmar Properties LLC. The farm will grow up to 1 million pounds of local produce per year, including tomatoes, lettuces and herbs.
The rooftop farm will be built on Federal Building #2, renamed Liberty View Industrial Plaza, an 8-story 1.1 million-square-foot warehouse. Salmar Properties’ redevelopment of the building, coupled with BrightFarms’ rooftop design, is part of the Bloomberg administration’s plan to revitalize Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront.
The rooftop farm will both help rehab the building and provide a source of local produce. It will grow enough crops to meet the fresh vegetable consumption needs of up to 5,000 New Yorkers, create jobs, and prevent as much as 1.8 million gallons of storm water from going into local waterways. By eliminating the length and complexity of the produce supply chain, this farm will grow produce that is fresh and sustainable.
Brightfarm’s CEO Paul Lightfoot presented at TEDx Manahattan in January along with our Executive Director Marianne Cufone, discussing recirculating farming.