Planning Board members spoke in favor of a multi-use parking garage and vertical greenhouse at a public hearing Oct. 20.
The $60 million project is a collaboration between the city and developers that would see the Mechanic Street parking lot downtown turned into a free parking garage, topped with over 50 apartments and a Vertical Harvest farm along the structure’s side.
“I love this project,” Ward 2 member Jason Frazier said. “It has jobs, parking, housing. It’s the perfect project.”
The greenhouse would produce about 1 million pounds of food per year and bring in 56 full-time jobs with a focus on providing careers for people with disabilities.