History
Gotham Greens was founded by Viraj Puri and Eric Haley in 2009, aiming to bring fresh, local and pesticide-free produce, grown using sustainable methods, to cities across the United States. [4] [5] Puri has a sustainable development and environmental engineering background, and Haley has a banking and finance background and focuses on the business side of the venture. [6] The company is headed by Puri, Haley and Jenn Frymark, who joined in 2009 to lead greenhouse operations. [6]
After three years of planning, in May 2011 Gotham Greens opened its first location, a 15,000 square-foot greenhouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, that was reported to be the first commercial urban rooftop greenhouse in the United States. [7] [8] However, commercial greenhouses on rooftops have existed in New York City since at least since 1969, when Terrestris rooftop nursery opened on 60th Street in Manhattan. [9]
By controlling the environment, Gotham Greens can grow up to 30 times more leafy greens per acre than conventional open-field agriculture. Its greenhouses use up to 90% less water and 97% less land in comparison to conventional open-field farming methods. [10] [11] [12] [13]
The company opened its second location in 2013, a 20,000 square-foot greenhouse, atop a Whole Foods Market in Gowanus, Brooklyn; [14] [15] its third in 2015, a 75,000 square foot greenhouse in Chicago, Illinois, the largest rooftop greenhouse in the world; [16] [17] and its fourth location, a 60,000 square-foot greenhouse on the rooftop of the former Ideal Toy Company factory in Jamaica, Queens, in late 2015. [18] [19] At the end of 2019, Gotham Greens opened 100,000 square-foot greenhouse facilities in Chicago, [16] Edgemere, Maryland, [20] and Providence, Rhode Island. [21] In 2020, the company opened a 30,000 square-foot greenhouse in Aurora, Colorado. [22] [23] In 2021, the company announced it expanded to the West Coast with the opening of a 100,000 square-foot greenhouse in Davis, California, and that it became a Certified B Corporation. [24] In 2022, Gotham Greens announced the purchase of FresH2O Growers, based in Stevensburg, Virginia, with a 540,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse facility. [25] In 2023, Gotham Greens added an additional 600,000 square feet with expansions at existing facilities in Chicago [26] and Providence, Rhode Island, two new greenhouse facilities in Windsor, Colorado, and Monroe, Georgia; Seagoville, Texas was officially opened in January 2024. [27] [28] [29]
In 2021, the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) and the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (UCD CAES) entered into a partnership with Gotham Greens to advance research and innovation in the areas of indoor agriculture, advanced greenhouse technology and urban agriculture. [30]
The company was recognized by Whole Foods Market as part of its Top Food Trends for "Ultra Urban Farming" in 2022 [31] and "Clean & Conserve: Water Stewardship" in 2024. [32]
