The Commercial Property Guide to Vertical Farming

Beyond brightening up a commercial space and providing a sense of health and wellness, on-site farms are a shared space where tenants, employees, or clients can get to know one another and engage in their community.

Not every property has space or staff to plant and maintain a garden, though. When it comes to urban farms, space is at a premium.

Vertical farming is the most efficient, space-saving way to introduce green space to your property. Our team at Copiana will help you turn a few square feet of available space into a modern aeroponic farm.

What is Copiana?

Copiana brings aeroponic tower farms to commercial spaces. We develop and maintain urban agriculture for clients of all shapes and sizes. Each month, when produce is mature, our events and harvest markets build community and delight tenants. We take sustainable urban farming to a new level, providing a truly unique amenity that adds real value to any property.

Copiana farmers will deliver, install, maintain, and harvest your towers. We will even plan monthly harvest events.

Why should you use Copiana?

Our towers are the most sustainable and efficient way to bring urban farming to your property. Copiana’s aeroponic technology uses no soil and 90 percent less water than traditional farming.

We make introducing green space to your property effortless. The towers allow us to provide our plants with an ideal growth environment, which means they grow faster and more plentiful in about a tenth of the space a rooftop garden would need.

What does a Copiana Harvest look like?

Once a month, your Copiana towers will produce ripe fruits and vegetables, ready for harvest. Our farmers turn each harvest into an on-site event. They share recipes or show guests how to replant and propagate the plants. Fresh produce is a gift that keeps giving!

Depending on the season, we may have a lemonade stand with fresh herbs or a peppermint hot chocolate party. If your property has a chef, we can partner with them to provide fresh, delicious meals using produce grown on-site.

Where can you put Copiana?

An aeroponic tower can go just about anywhere. Unlike rooftop farming or traditional agriculture, vertical farming works indoor or outdoor, so weather, pests, and other irritants are a non-issue.

Our system uses a pump to pull nutrient-infused water up through the towers to mist plant roots, which recycles much of the water. Though the pump is energy-efficient, your farm will need access to a power source. In the summer, we will typically grow outside. In winter, we move the towers indoors so they can keep producing at a regular pace.

We are happy to schedule a consultation to assess a customized solution for your property. Here are just a few businesses we think are particularly compatible with a Copiana farm.

Senior Living Facilities

Copiana can bring the outdoors in, so all residents can experience the daily benefits of nature. Our towers can produce indoors year-round. Your residents will love watching our plants grow-and they will love the harvest events even more! Copiana farmers can teach residents how to replant their harvest take-homes to add a bit of green to their rooms.

Jami Mohlenkamp, an architect for senior living facilities, stresses the importance for “residents, staff, and visitors to continue to experience the living, healing power of the outdoors as much as possible.”

Having a garden on property is also an excellent way to encourage healthy, balanced meals. We can partner with your dining staff to plan recipes featuring colorful vegetables from each harvest. Our fresh herbs can introduce new and brighter flavors, stimulating appetite.

Apartments

Are you a property manager looking to up tenant engagement? Copiana can introduce new life to your apartment complex. Our team can organize regular community-building events without adding to your busy schedule. Copiana harvests are must-do events for the communities we partner with. Residents can’t wait to get fresh herbs and veggies each month.

Green space is increasingly important for residents as home offices become the new normal. Be DTLA, a Southern California wellness-oriented apartment building, incorporates private outdoor green space as part of its WELL Health-Safety certification. Our vertical farms add tangible value to real estate, providing a unique and sought-after amenity.

Restaurants

Ready to take your menu to the next level? Try growing fresh herbs and greens feet from the kitchen. Bell Book & Candle in New York City uses aeroponic towers to grow seasonal produce for their rooftop-to-table restaurant. It’s the most sustainable way to source your food.

Hyperlocal produce from Copiana towers is more nutritionally dense than what you’ll find at the grocery store. Plus, it tastes better. Rather than relying on your greens and herbs to travel thousands of miles, why not pick them straight from the plant? You’ll save money, food waste, packaging, and emissions and guests will see just how fresh their food is.

Offices

Our tower farms provide a natural place for people to take a break and get to know one another. A strong work community builds better teams and more engaged tenants. According to the World Green Building Council, offices and buildings that incorporate health and wellness initiatives see increased productivity. This is because access to natural spaces reduces stress and improves people’s moods.

A health-centered building will see fewer sick days and more profit. CBRE Canada saw that making small changes to “create engaging workplaces” had a positive impact on retention and recruitment. For a minimal investment, emphasizing the health and wellness of your tenants will attract top talent and boost your bottom line. Copiana is working to build healthier communities by reconnecting urban tenants to where their food comes from.

Gyms

There’s no better compliment to a fitness routine than healthy eating. Help your members get on the right track by growing fruits and vegetables in your lobby or parking lot. For a harvest event, we can partner with a nutritionist to show your regulars how to create the perfect recovery smoothie or green juice. Offering a holistic wellness program will attract new members and increase engagement among current ones.

In fact, having a juice bar in your gym is an easy and natural way to up your amenities and your revenue. Beyond offering a healthy post-workout refresher, a juice bar can encourage members to get to know one another and develop a fitness community.

Phil Newman of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee says that, especially for gym-goers who might be intimidated by professional equipment, juice bars give people “places to connect, make friends, relax and talk.” One of the best ways to stick to a regular fitness routine is to find a workout buddy. A communal amenity like a juice bar or cafe facilitates that.

Schools

If you don’t have the space or the team to maintain a school garden, don’t worry. Copiana is a space and time-saving way for students of all ages to learn about plants and aeroponics. Farming gets students out of the classroom and provides a healthy break in their day, while facilitating hands-on learning. As a bonus, your cafeteria can make use of our nutritious harvests.

At Thomasville Heights Elementary School, students learn how to mitigate food deserts through urban farming. They develop business skills by running farm stands throughout the school year and donating produce to urban food pantries. Farming, composting, and serving the community is part of the curriculum. With Copiana towers on campus, students can learn to appreciate healthy produce and learn how to serve their community.

Anywhere

Have another commercial space in mind? No problem! Copiana can go just about anywhere, indoor or outdoor, rooftop or patio. Our team will consider light, temperature, and available space when determining the best place for a tower farm on your property.

Ready to get started? Contact us to learn more about how a customized aeroponic tower farm can improve your property.