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Massive Rooftop Greenhouse Coming to Jamaica

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | April 8, 2013 5:33pm | Updated on April 9, 2013 11:24am

QUEENS — A massive rooftop greenhouse that would produce more than 500 tons of fresh vegetables and herbs a year may be soon coming to Jamaica, officials said Monday.

The new facility, planned by Gotham Greens, which is already operating a 15,000-square feet rooftop greenhouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, will be one of the largest of its kind in the country.

Gotham Greens, which was awarded $902,000 from the Regional Economic Development Councils for the project last year, is planning to build a 55,000-square feet high-tech facility in Jamaica.

“Urban farming is a very exciting development and it would be really great to have an operation doing it in Jamaica,” said Fred Winters, a spokesman for the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, a local development organization which is currently trying to find a building for the greenhouse.

The greenhouse will produce more than 500 tons of fresh pesticide-free vegetables for residents of Queens and other boroughs and it will create 40 permanent and 50 construction jobs, according to the Regional Councils.

The greenhouse would also allow plants to grow hydroponically, in sand or liquid but without soil.

The project, first reported by the Daily News, includes installation of a state-of-the-art LED lighting system and other efficiency and renewable energy technologies.