Gotham Greens, which operates a rooftop greenhouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, plans to create one of the largest commercial greenhouses in the country on top of an industrial building in Jamaica, Queens.
“Jamaica’s a great community for it,” said Gotham Greens CEO Viraj Puri, who launched the company with a 15,000 square-foot greenhouse in 2011. “The neighborhood’s in need of economic development and job creation.”
The company was awarded more than $900,000 late last year from the state Regional Economic Development Council to construct a greenhouse up to 60,000 square feet in size in the Queens neighborhood best known for its discount shopping.
Work on the facility is slated to begin late this year and the greenhouse is expected to be operational in early 2014, Puri said.
The hydroponic greenhouse, which uses nutrient-rich water instead of dirt, is expected to yield about 500 tons of leafy greens, herbs and possibly even tomatoes year-round. It will also create about 30 full-time jobs, Puri said.
Gotham recently inked a deal to open a greenhouse on top of a new Whole Foods store in Gowanus, Brooklyn, opening in the fall.
The company also received about $400,000 to create a rooftop site on top of the planned Oak Point food distribution site in the Bronx. It is also looking for new sites in the Bronx, Puri said.