Ron Beit is the developer who is leading the charge in revitalizing the once distressed city of Newark, New Jersey.  Ron was able to bring the innovative AeroFarms to be developed with the help of the prominent ‘Homeless Billionaire’ Nicolas Berggruen, Goldman Sachs, and Prudential Financial.

The new 69,000-square-foot complex will also contain labs, offices and a cafe and is expected to be finished next year..

Critics of vertical farming have complained that taste can suffer when food is cultivated without soil or sun, while proponents say vertical farms are extremely efficient and have a small environmental impact. They take up minimal space, grow round the clock and are near the markets that sell their crops, reducing the need for long truck trips. Vertical farms are also far less susceptible to the vagaries of unpredictable weather like droughts or floods.

AeroFarm is part of a larger redevelopment project called Maker’s Village. They will be an anchor establishment for the locale, which intends to bring “maker-type” businesses to the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark. The first phase opens later this year.

Sources: NYT Mymodernmet Bloomberg