Federal Realty Bringing Hydroponic Shipping Containers To A Shopping Center Near You
Federal Realty Bringing Hydroponic Shipping Containers To A Shopping Center Near You
Mar 29, 2017, 7:45am EDT
Updated Mar 29, 2017, 8:27am EDT
Michael Neibauer: Associate Editor Washington Business Journal
If shipping containers can be reused as housing, why not retrofit them for farms, too?
Rockville-based Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) has struck up a partnership with a Boston-based company to bring farms contained in retrofitted shipping containers to select shopping centers across the United States.
The partnership with Freight Farms, according to a release, "empowers anyone to use this technology while repurposing Federal Realty's unused parking spaces as a place to locally and sustainably produce food that benefits the shopping centers' tenants, customers and community."
Freight Farms produces what it calls the "Leafy Green Machine," a "complete hydroponic growing system capable of producing a variety of lettuces, herbs and hearty greens." The 40 x 8 x 9.5 shipping containers, weighing 7.5 tons each, include climate technology and growing equipment — LED light strips, closed-loop water system, multi-planed airflow — to ensure a regular harvest, Freight Farms claims.
The Leafy Green Machine costs $85,000, plus an estimated $13,000 a year to operate. The containers consume about 100 kWh of energy per day. With that, plus water, Freight Farms says a farmer can harvest, for example, more than 500 full-size heads of lettuce per week.
"Finding the right location is a major hurdle for most new farmers," Caroline Katsiroubas, Freight Farms' marketing director, said in the release. "By partnering up with Federal Realty, we are eliminating a large barrier to entry for individuals looking to grow fresh produce for their local communities."
Federal Realty will offer parking spaces for rent to freight farmers, providing, perhaps, opportunities to partner with restaurants and grocery stores.
It is unclear whether any Greater Washington shopping centers will be selected initially for the shipping container rollout, expected this spring, though the program is expected to be expanded eventually nationwide. Federal Realty representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Federal Realty's properties in Greater Washington include Pike & Rose, Bethesda Row, Rockville's Courthouse Center and Federal Plaza, Free State Shopping Center in Bowie, Gaithersburg Square, Friendship Center in Friendship Heights and Sam's Park & Shop in Cleveland Park, and Graham Park Plaza and Barcroft Plaza in Falls Church.
Michael Neibauer oversees our real estate coverage and edits stories for the website and print edition.
