Sparrows Point, Md., is home to a sustainable greenhouse that is changing the way we grow produce in cities across America. Gotham Greens’ climate-controlled facility is supplying grocery stores throughout the region with fresh produce such as leafy greens and herbs while using a fraction of the natural resources required by traditional farming.
After the success of their initial greenhouses in New York City, Chicago and Providence, R.I., Gotham Greens’ CEO Viraj Puri set his sights on expanding the business to the Mid-Atlantic region. That vision brought Gotham Greens to the site of the former Bethlehem Steel Mill in Sparrows Point, an industrial area just outside of Baltimore. Today, the site has been reimagined into a prospering and lush 100,000 square foot hydroponic greenhouse -- a source for economic development and local jobs. The company has created more than 50 full-time green jobs since 2020.
Through a partnership with USDA, utilizing the Business and Industry Loan Guarantee, Gotham Greens was able to transform a portion of the site from steel to greens, building a sustainable greenhouse that utilizes machine learning and 100 percent renewable electricity. Its high-tech farming practices use 95 percent less water and 97 percent less land while achieving more than 35 times the yield of conventional open-field farming.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Gotham Greens