Pullman will soon be the site of Illinois’ first Vertical Harvest – a company that creates hydroponic farms to create jobs and healthy food in communities experiencing high unemployment and food insecurity.
Plans were announced today to transform vacant land adjacent to an affordable apartment complex into the Vertical Greenhouse, a $40 million, 63,000 square-foot facility that will grow over 560,000 pounds of produce annually to help ease food insecurity in the Pullman/Roseland community.
Thanks to a $1 million grant from “We Rise Together,” a project of the Chicago Community Trust and others to jump start job-creating developments in under-resourced communities, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives (CNI) will join with Mercy Housing to develop the new project at the Pullman Wheelworks, a former manufacturing facility converted into 210 affordable apartments by Mercy Housing in 1980.
In addition to the produce, which will be processed and distributed through local facilities, the four- story Vertical Greenhouse will create 55 full-time jobs for residents of Pullman Wheelworks and the 9th Ward community at large. The facility will feature a hydroponic greenhouse, an on-site market, a commercial kitchen, and a food depository, as well as host public tours and offer nutrition and cooking classes for the community.
“Besides creating good local jobs, the Vertical Greenhouse is a creative solution to address the pressing need for easily accessible nutritious food in the Pullman/Roseland community,” said 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale. “We applaud CNI, Mercy Housing, ‘We Rise Together’ and everyone else who came together as a team to make this happen.”
In addition to the grant, the Vertical Greenhouse will be funded by a combination of New Markets Tax Credits, financing, capital contributions, and additional grants. The project is expected to break ground in early 2022 and be completed in 2023.
The project will join a host of several food companies and environmentally friendly businesses that have located to the 9th Ward and the Pullman/Roseland community, including a Whole Foods Midwest Distribution Center, two Gotham Greens facilities that already grow and harvest nearly a million heads of lettuce every month, a distribution center for SC Johnson, the world’s largest manufacturer of consumer cleaning products, and a manufacturing plant for its affiliate, Method Products.
“CNI is excited to be part of the team that will work to help a community experiencing high-levels food insecurity gain access to affordable and nutritious food,” said David Doig, President of CNI. “Addressing housing, employment, economic opportunities, and access to nutritious food have always been the key elements essential behind CNI’s mission to create strong, sustainable communities.”