Plenty Unlimited Inc., a Bay Area indoor agriculture company that is building a $300 million vertical farming campus in Chesterfield County, said Tuesday it is partnering with San Diego’s Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O) for its future real estate deals.
Under the agreement, Realty Income will acquire the land and provide development funding for the first farm at Plenty’s Richmond-area campus. The property will then be leased back to Plenty under a long-term net lease. The two companies said they will forge similar deals on future facilities, including in international markets. The San Diego real estate investment trust, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, has more than 11,700 properties in its portfolio.
The companies said their agreement provides for up to $1 billion in development opportunities.
"The predictability and positive unit economics of Plenty's farms make it possible for us to utilize more traditional forms of funding, such as this strategic alliance with Realty Income,” Plenty CEO Arama Kukutai said in a statement. “This represents an advancement in the way indoor farming assets are capitalized and paves the way for their development as an asset class."
The Chesterfield County facility, planned for Meadowville Technology Park, is being billed as “the world’s largest indoor vertical farming campus.”
Plenty said it will complete its 120-acre Richmond Farm Campus in phases over the next six years, ultimately creating more than 300 full-time jobs. Its first farm on the site, a dedicated Driscoll’s berry farm to be completed by early 2024, will be the first to grow indoor, vertically farmed strawberries at scale. It is expected to serve markets in the Northeast U.S.
Plenty has also indicated it plans to grow leafy greens and tomatoes at the new campus. It said Tuesday it expects the Chesterfield facility to ultimately deliver more than 20 million pounds of crops annually.
