Schnucks to Build $4million Greenhouse

moorlander · PostJun 20, 2013#12013-06-20T14:58+00:00

This is pretty awesome. Fresh produce year round! I wonder if Schlafly would plan a greenhouse or just farmland for their requested 40acre farm.

Plans grow for Schnucks' $4 million greenhouse
Plans for a new greenhouse in St. Louis that will supply Schnuck Markets Inc. with local produce year-round have doubled in size ahead of a planned groundbreaking in August.

The greenhouse, which will be located at 6335 Bulwer Ave., is being built by New York-based BrightFarms Inc., which finances, builds and operates greenhouse farms. BrightFarms officials said the greenhouse will be 100,000 feet and cost $4 million, two times what they previously announced.

Plans grow for Schnucks' $4 million greenhouse
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... llion.html

flipz · PostJun 20, 2013#22013-06-20T15:47+00:00

Fantastic. I don't know where Schnucks has been getting their produce so far so I don't know what this means in terms of quality and cost but I like that the greenhouse is going to the north riverfront industrial area. The city has been making improvements along there in order to lure more businesses in. I wonder what kind of incentives the city gave them.

JNOnSTL · PostJun 20, 2013#32013-06-20T15:59+00:00

This is great news. It's good to see investment on the north side.

roger wyoming II · PostJun 20, 2013#42013-06-20T16:12+00:00

Only downside I could see if Schnuck's was already using local growers that might now be taking a hit. But "Made in Saint Louis" produce sound sweet to me!

rbeedee · PostJun 20, 2013#52013-06-20T16:17+00:00

Green Street seems to be a very busy company as of late--aren't they the same people involved with Chouteau's Crossing, the old Foodland site on Jefferson, and the new Urban Chestnut brewery in the Grove?

dweebe · PostJun 20, 2013#62013-06-20T16:30+00:00

JNOnSTL wrote:This is great news. It's good to see investment on the north side.

I also noticed that a "Loves" truck stop being built not far from there at the N. Broadway and 70 exit. Looks to be pretty big.

I know some here might not like that sort of development: but my spin is that it at least shows there's demand and supporting business in the area.

roger wyoming II · PostJun 20, 2013#72013-06-20T16:37+00:00

dweebe wrote:
JNOnSTL wrote:This is great news. It's good to see investment on the north side.
I also noticed that a "Loves" truck stop being built not far from there at the N. Broadway and 70 exit. Looks to be pretty big.

I know some here might not like that sort of development: but my spin is that it at least shows there's demand and supporting business in the area.

here is an old thread on the truck stop: http://nextstl.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... op#p204845

Presbyterian · PostJun 20, 2013#82013-06-20T17:22+00:00

The street address for this location is kind of strange. Looking at Google Maps, Bulwer Avenue stops at the 5600 block and doesn't restart until the 7200 block. From 5600 to 7200, Bulwer Avenue is replaced by the Terminal rail line. The site is accessed from Morin Ave and is next to the big Balke Brown shipping building.

Mark Groth · PostJun 20, 2013#92013-06-20T20:12+00:00

Awesome!!! 1M lbs produce per year is a great yield for a 200K foot greenhouse.

When I read the title of the thread, I thought Schnucks was building this, but the article says BrightFarmsInc will build and operate, Schnucks will buy the produce:

Under terms of the arrangement with Schnucks, Schnucks does not invest capital in the greenhouse. “They are our retail partner for the produce we grow,” according to Kate Siskel, BrightFarms’ marketing and media relations manager.

I wonder if others can eventually buy from BrightFarms (Shop-N-Save, Fields Foods, etc)?

This is fantastic!

onecity · PostJun 20, 2013#102013-06-20T20:26+00:00

I would be pretty sweet if that whole block were eventually filled with greenhouses, which could very well be the point of locating there.

Kevin B · PostJun 20, 2013#112013-06-20T20:53+00:00

Also have that nice, big, recently-shuttered Hostess factory nearby. Wonder if a large greenhouse in close proximity could encourage a business to re/locate there. Prepared foods, canned goods...I don't know.

metzgda · PostJun 20, 2013#122013-06-20T21:55+00:00

It will be even better if Schnucks could take this one step further, using the produce that goes un-purchased in its stores and creating compost out of it that could be used at the greenhouse. Otherwise I fear that while the produce will be local (which is great), it will be produced with techniques far from green practices.

southsidepride · PostJul 01, 2013#132013-07-01T23:15+00:00

dweebe wrote:
JNOnSTL wrote:This is great news. It's good to see investment on the north side.
I also noticed that a "Loves" truck stop being built not far from there at the N. Broadway and 70 exit. Looks to be pretty big.

I know some here might not like that sort of development: but my spin is that it at least shows there's demand and supporting business in the area.

As someone who has done a lot of cross country driving the past few months I can tell you Love's is one of the better maintained travel stops.

And I noticed on my last trip to New Orleans that there is a truck stop on Elysian Fields Ave. a couple miles from the French Quarter in a quasi-industrial area.

Maybe truck stop isn't the first thing to come to mind when one thinks of an urban center, but I think for certain areas it's a wise use of land.

After all--why should Foristell get all the spicy peanut and 44oz. soda business?

moorlander · PostFeb 09, 2015#142015-02-09T20:27+00:00

The big announcement of Schnucks opening a warehouse in NorthPark reminded me of this project. Any updates?

jstriebel · PostFeb 10, 2015#152015-02-10T03:30+00:00

A representative from the NY company that Schnuck's was to partner with suggested in an interview in June that ground would break sometime in the fall. I don't know if that happened or not.

http://www.freshfruitportal.com/2014/06 ... d%20states

And it looks like the BoA approved the land for re-development in July.

https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/d ... &BBId=9236