Bowery Farming to open facility in Bethlehem

Bowery Farming, the nation’s largest vertical farming company, recently announced it is expanding into Pennsylvania.

The company will build a 150,000-square-foot facility on an 8.7-acre site in Bethlehem. The project is expected to cost more than $30 million and create at least 70 full-time jobs in the next three years.

The new facility will be the company’s first vertical farm operation in Pennsylvania and its fourth in the country.

Founded in 2015, the company builds smart indoor vertical farms that produce various products within a short timeframe. Produce is sold through the company’s website and delivered to more than 680 stores in the Mid-Atlantic region and the tristate area.

“Adding our newest, most sophisticated smart indoor farm in Bethlehem to our network is a critical next chapter in our growth,” Bowery Farming Founder and CEO Irving Fain said. “We’re proud to transform a former industrial site into productive, modern farmland, which will create year-round sustainable farming jobs for the community and expand access to a reliable source of traceable pesticide-free produce across the region.”

The Department of Community and Economic Development submitted a funding proposal for $50,000 in grant funding for workforce training as well as a $210,000 Pennsylvania First grant.

The department encouraged Bowery Farming to apply for a Neighborhood Assistance Enterprise Zone Tax Credit.