Opportunity
Nuveen Green Capital helped fund Wilder Farms’ gut renovation of this location through $2.9M in C-PACE financing for key energy efficient measures, including the building envelope, LED grow lighting, as well as a new roof top HVAC unit. These measures are estimated to save Wilder Fields over $8.3M and 59,371,067 kWh of energy during the expected lifespan of the financed measures, while also conserving millions of gallons of water.
Property summary
Wilder Fields is a technology and sustainability-focused food company that supports local communities by vertically growing pesticide-free leafy greens in repurposed buildings. The company converted an empty, 135,000 square foot Target Store, located at 1717 East-West Road, in Calumet City, Illinois, to a hydroponic vertical farm with 22 “growing rooms,” a climate-controlled area, a cold chain/ processing area, as well as 80,000 square feet of office space. Wilder Fields’ hydroponic farms use 95% less water than traditional methods, which dramatically reduces fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and waste.
From the beginning, Wilder Fields sought ways to make indoor vertical farming profitable by tackling the high costs of energy and labor that have challenged so many in our industry. The C-PACE program has helped us do that. We’re very grateful for the chance to participate in this program, and to Nuveen Green Capital for supporting this initiative.
