Another win for Chesterfield, Virginia - World's Largest Vertical Farm

Plenty to build 'world's largest indoor vertical farming campus' in Richmond area

Sep. 14th, 2022

Plenty Unlimited Inc., a Bay Area indoor agriculture company, said Wednesday it will build a $300 million vertical farming campus in Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park.

The office of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin billed the project as “the world’s largest indoor vertical farming campus.”

Plenty said it will complete its 120-acre Richmond Farm Campus in phases over the next six years, ultimately creating more than 300 full-time jobs. Its first farm on the site, a dedicated Driscoll’s berry farm to be completed by early 2024, will be the first to grow indoor, vertically farmed strawberries at scale, according to the governor’s announcement. Plenty also indicated it plans to grow leafy greens and tomatoes at its new campus.

Arama Kukutai, CEO of Plenty, said in a statement the “scale and sophistication” of the planned facility will make it possible “to economically grow a variety of produce with superior quality and flavor.”

In January, Plenty announced a $400 million Series E round led by One Madison Group and JS Capital Management, both of New York, as well as

participation from Walmart Inc. and SoftBank Vision Fund 1. At the time, Plenty said it would to use the funding to support its strategy of selling products from its farms directly to partners — including Walmart stores.

The company, which was founded in 2014 and has about 200 patents to its name, says its 30-foot growth towers make it the only vertical farming company capable of growing multiple crops on one platform with “consistently superior flavor and yields.” It also says it can produce yields of up to 350-times more per acre, using a fraction of the water, compared to conventional farms.

“Technological advancement is what drives the industry of agriculture forward, so I am thrilled Virginia is playing a leading role in the indoor farming revolution that is changing, for the better, where much of our food is coming from,” Matthew Lohr, Virginia’s secretary of agriculture and forestry, said in a statement.

Youngkin’s office said the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the state’s Department of Agriculture, Chesterfield County, the Greater Richmond Partnership and Dominion Energy all worked to secure the project for the state.

Youngkin approved a $2.4 million grant from the state’s Opportunity Fund as well as a $500,000 grant from his office’s agriculture and forestry industries fund for the project. Plenty is also eligible for state incentives for full-time jobs it creates in Virginia.

Meadowville Technology Park, a publicly owned industrial park located 9401 Courthouse Road near Chesterfield County Airport, has landed a series of major new tenants in recent months, including Lego Group's $1 billion block factory and a new lab-testing facility from nonprofit generic medicine provider Civica Inc. announced just last week.