A New York company has selected a facility on S. Wilmington in Raleigh as a possible site where it hopes to build a rooftop hydroponic greenhouse.
BrightFarms held a contest to identify an ideal site in the Triangle for the rooftop garden, which will be used to sell lettuce, tomatoes and herbs to local supermarkets.
The winner was Kelly Kenworthy, a growth advisor from Los Angeles, who submitted six sites including the 200,000-square-foot Evergreen Packaging facility on S. Wilmington. Evergreen is a manufacturer and supplier of consumer food and beverage packaging and storage.
BrightFarms still must reach an agreement wtih Evergreen if it hopes to locate the facility on its roof. Kate Siskel, a spokeswoman for BrightFarms, said the company has made initial contact with Evergreen but no agreement has been reached.
"Because the people who submitted the sites are not necessarily the property owners or managers it's conceivable that a site that's recommended won't work for any number of reasons," she said.
BrightFarms offers to finance, build and manage the greenhouse farm. Participating supermarkets sign 10-year contracts to purchase the produce and receive a guarantee that prices will never exceed average inflation.
The company has partnered with A&P in Brooklyn, Whole Foods in New Jersey, and Homeland Stores in Oklahoma.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or