Large Indoor Farm Planned For Riverwest

Hundred Acre Basil. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

While most farms lie dormant through the harsh Wisconsin winter, Hundred Acre is poised for big growth. The vertical hydroponic farm is planning a new facility in Riverwest. It would allow the indoor farm to quadruple its production.

In its current location at the Century City business park, the farm pumps out fresh greens year-round, yielding 40,000 pounds of produce per year from its 5,000-square-foot location.

But that’s not enough to keep up with demand from restaurants and grocers, said Chris Corkery, founder and CEO of Hundred Acre Farms.

“We’ve been sold out for six months,” he said of the current facility, which opened approximately two years ago. “We need to expand supply and provide our existing customers, plus new customers, with products.”

The new addition, planned for a 10,000-square-foot space along E. Keefe Avenue, will allow the urban farm to meet that demand, while also allowing the company to expand its programming and reach.

It will also allow the company to introduce additional crops, such as arugula and microgreens, to its existing lineup of basil and leafy greens.

Corkery said the new facility will focus mainly on production, with an expected yield of more than 250,000 pounds of produce per year. The existing farm will be reoriented as a community center and grow room for one product.

In 2021, Hundred Acre launched its first Milwaukee facility in the Century City 1 building, 3945 N. 31st St. Since then, the company has established more than two dozen local partnerships with restaurants and schools. It later expanded to retail, selling a salad mix, fresh basil and pesto through local grocers including Piggly Wiggly, Outpost Natural Foods and Go Grocer MKE. The company also launched a media production arm, Grow With Us, to share information related to the local food movement.

Another project, Edible Learning, educates students about hydroponics and sustainable farming through hands-on workshops. The program has been implemented at Escuela Verde, a charter school on Milwaukee’s South Side. The school also serves Hundred Acre greens at the adjacent Newline Cafe, a public-facing business run by Escuela Verde students.

Each of these programs will continue to develop in tandem with the upcoming expansion, Corkery said.

As Hundred Acre works to tackle deep-seated issues such as food insecurity and climate change, Corkery is taking a methodical approach, honing in on one neighborhood at a time to spur change.

“Right now, Riverwest is our core focus. We want to be invested into that community,” he said. “We’re going to be committed to our current community on 31st and Capitol, and we then also want to make sure that we’re heavily focused and invested into the Riverwest community. One at a time.”

Corkery said he was drawn to Riverwest because he saw a need in the neighborhood, but also great potential. “The space is incredible and the ownership is empathetic to the cause of improving the area,” he said of the unidentified facility. “Also, we think, in general, that the neighborhood can stand to benefit from bringing a food security operation into that area.”

Hundred Acre designed the growing systems used in its Milwaukee facility. The hydroponic, or soil-free, format uses less water than traditional farming methods and requires zero pesticides. The systems are also stackable to optimize space and, in a controlled environment, can yield produce year-round for weekly harvest.