NEWS HIGHLIGHT
More rooftop greenhouses envisioned
Lufa Farms Inc., creator of the world’s first
commercial-scale rooftop greenhouse, yesterday announced a
co-operative
agreement with green industrial-park specialist Le Groupe Montoni of
Laval to develop LEED-certified industrial buildings capable of
supporting commercial greenhouses.
Sept. 13, 2011, Montreal — Lufa Farms Inc., creator of the world’s first commercial-scale rooftop greenhouse, yesterday announced a co-operative agreement with green industrial-park specialist Le Groupe Montoni of Laval to develop LEED-certified industrial buildings capable of supporting commercial greenhouses.
The agreement is expected to result in several new rooftop farms in and around Montreal, beginning next year.
Mohamed Hage, president and founder of Lufa Farms, said Lufa’s next rooftop greenhouse in the Montreal area would be constructed on a Montoni building roof, and should begin operations in mid-2012. Lufa’s first commercial greenhouse, which sits atop a roof in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, measures 31,000 square feet.
GREENHOUSES ON GREEN BUILDINGS
According to the agreement, Lufa Farms will build and operate rooftop greenhouses on environmentally responsible Montoni buildings. The new greenhouses will be between 80,000 and 120,000 square feet in size – four-to-five times larger than Lufa’s original greenhouse. Development costs will be shared and Lufa Farms will lease the Montoni roofs.
“This is an important partnership for two reasons,” said Hage. ”First, Le Groupe Montoni has demonstrated a consistent commitment to LEED and responsible building development that makes them a perfect partner on which to build our urban farms. Second, as a company that builds more than 1.5 million square feet of space every year, we see this as providing platforms for several additional large-scale rooftop farms in the next few years.”
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is an international building certification program that concentrates on improving performance across five key areas:
• Energy efficiency.
• Indoor environmental quality.
• Materials selection.
• Sustainable site development.
• Water savings.
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| Lufa’s first commercial greenhouse, which sits atop a roof in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, measures 31,000 square feet. PHOTO COURTESY LUFA FARMS |
For Le Groupe Montoni, working with Lufa Farms is consistent with its commitment to LEED-innovative industrial projects.
“Enabled by Lufa Farms greenhouses, our buildings will be able to achieve new levels of energy efficiency,” said Dario Montoni, president and chief executive of Le Groupe Montoni, which recently completed one of the nation’s first LEED-certified industrial parks in Ville St-Laurent. “We see this becoming a model for an entirely new type of industrial parks that are clean, energy-efficient, and an important part of the greater community.”
MORE GREENHOUSE SPACE MEANS MORE LOCAL PRODUCT
Alan DeSousa, mayor of Ville St-Laurent and vice-chair of Montreal’s executive committee responsible for sustainable environment, has been advocating more sustainable approaches to development for some years. “Projects like those envisioned by Le Groupe Montoni and Lufa Farms," he said, "can be an important step to a more energy-effective and food-independent Montreal."
In Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Lufa Farms grows a large selection of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, greens, herbs and other vegetables and sells them to direct to customers around Montreal through a distribution network of “drop points.”
More than 700 households currently subscribe to Lufa Farms vegetable baskets. The new, larger greenhouses to be built with Montoni are expected to serve as many 5,000 households each.
ABOUT GROUPE MONTONI DIVISION CONSTRUCTION INC.
Founded in 1995, Groupe Montoni Division Construction Inc. is a leader in the commercial and industrial sectors. Since 2001, it was one of 50 best-managed private companies in Canada and joined the Platinum Club in 2007. The Montoni staff is known in the industry for the design and construction of sustainable buildings and systems, and resources and processes for the evaluation of LEED Canada sustainable buildings.
ABOUT LUFA FARMS
The first Lufa Farms greenhouse is located on the rooftop at 1400 Antonio-Barbeau near the Marche Central. For more information, consumers may visit https://lufa.com, call 514-669-3559, or email info@lufa.com.
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