“Since 80 Acres has been in Hamilton, not only have they moved offices here, not only have they put a vertical farm in our downtown on South 2nd Street, they’ve also built a $30 million facility in our industrial park, at Hamilton Enterprise Park,” City Manager Joshua Smith told City Council last week.
“When they were in a pinch in terms of signing a very large contract with Kroger and needed an area to mobilize and prepare their display cases for all the different Kroger stores,” Smith said. He said the city’s infrastructure and utilities staffs “worked incredibly hard and very quickly to get them available space in a city-owned building on Hanover (870 Hanover St.).”
Meanwhile, “they’re also doing some vertical farming in that location,” which has 110,000 square feet, Smith added. The company also will repair equipment there.
“We’re gearing up for expansion, and we’re storing in a building,” said company spokeswoman Rebecca Haders. “It’s coolers and things like that for point-of-sale.”
Under the proposed contract, the company will pay $3 per square foot in areas where produce is grown, and $1.25 in non-growing areas. The lease is expected to be valued at $39,000 per year. That includes utilities, except in areas where growing will happen. That area will be metered separately, and that facility is expected to be one of the city’s Top 20 utility users.
Smith noted 80 Acres has put their corporate office and those of their Europe-based joint venture, Infinite Acres, in the city-government tower at 345 High St., under an earlier lease agreement.
The proposed lease would date back to Feb. 8, 2021, and would last five years, with extensions possible through the year 2041, with the city entitled to alter the lease based on market rates for industrial space, and also based on utility costs and use by the company.
Under the proposed agreement, likely to be approved at council’s June 9 meeting, the city will provide up to $25,000 in improvements to the building, including bathrooms, a wall and floor drains.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“I think in the near future you’ll see additional announcements with 80 Acres and their expansion in Hamilton,” Smith said. “They are growing incredibly fast, they’re very well capitalized, and I truly think that what they’re doing is cutting-edge and is getting a lot of national but also international press.”
Numerous businesses, including 80 Acres and Darana Hybrid, have praised city officials for working hard with them to provide help for them as they have grown locally.
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