Urban farmer makes use of vacant CBD space

Short-term leases are not an issue for this modular agriculture start-up.

Richard Cornish

Dec 6, 2023 – 5.00am

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The future of farming is here. High-tech indoor vertical farms are sprouting up beneath our city buildings and taking over unused CBD real estate. Just a chip’s throw from Crown Casino in Melbourne’s Southbank, a former BMW showroom has been transformed into a productive farm.

Apart from the faint trickle of water, and the whoosh of traffic outside, the farm is almost silent and spotlessly clean. Tall modular racks, covering just 50 square metres, hold pots of microgreens that are hydroponically grown under LED strips.