Gotham Greens Greenhouse says it has broken ground on its second greenhouse in Pullman. The $12.6 million, 140,000 sq. ft. complex is expected to create 70 construction jobs, the city said in a news release.
The company currently operates a 75,000-sq. ft. greenhouse on the roof of the nearby Method Products factory, which opened in 2015.
(The company was issued a temporary use permit to erect a tent at 10800 S. Doty Ave., but there is no indication of a full-scale permit for work at that address.)
“Gotham Greens’ decision to double down and build a second greenhouse is a vote of confidence in Chicago and another sign of the economic renaissance underway in the historic Pullman community,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “Pullman’s historic past is matched only by its growing economic resurgence today, thanks to partners like Gotham Greens.”
The 6.2-acre project site was occupied until 2008 by a Ryerson Steel plant and later acquired by Pullman Park LLC. Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives (CNI) plans to acquire and prepare the site for $3.68 million and subsequently sell the property to Gotham Greens, which will complete the greenhouse’s vertical construction. Approximately $3.4 million in Tax Increment Financing assistance for the site preparation work is pending City Council approval.
The new greenhouse adds to the $250 million in recent public and private investments in Pullman, including the 150,000-sq. ft. Whole Foods Midwest Distribution Center, the 135,000-square-foot Pullman Community Center, the Pullman Park retail center, the 111th Street Gateway retail complex, ArtSpace live/work lofts, and recently designated Pullman National Monument.
