Roof Options
Understanding Future Uses of Roofspace and Defining An Early Path to Profitable Roof Estate Investing

Vertical Farming System To Top Vancouver Parking Lot
December 13th, 2011

Via City Farmer News, a report that a high density “VertiCrop” vertical growing system in will be established on the top level of a parkade in the Vancouver’s downtown core:

535 Richards Street in downtown Vancouver.

“…Vancouver-based Valcent Products Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding to install its first “VertiCrop” high-density vertical growing system in North America on the top level of a parkade in the city’s downtown core.The vertical farming system allows leafy green vegetables to be grown all year round in urban environments in much smaller spaces, using much smaller amounts of energy and water while generating higher yields.

According to the VertiCrop site, using the system requires just 8 per cent of normal water consumption used to irrigate crops, can work in any climate, can grow more than 50 varieties of leafy green vegetables, and offers yields about 20 times higher than normal production of field crops.

Valcent’s First VertiCrop(TM) Installation Slated for City of Vancouver

Vancouver, British Columbia,
Dec 12, 2011
Marketwire Via Comtex

Valcent Products Inc. announced today that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with PSWJ Holdings Ltd. (“PSWJ”) and EasyPark, a Corporation that manages and operates parkades and properties owned by the City of Vancouver, to install a VertiCrop(TM) high density vertical growing system on the top-level of a parkade in the heart of the city’s downtown core.

Named one of TIME Magazine’s 50 Best Inventions, VertiCrop(TM) allows leafy green vegetables to be grown in controlled environments such as greenhouses and underutilized urban warehouses. In addition to providing year-round access to fresh, healthy, local produce, VertiCrop(TM) requires a fraction of the land, energy, and water conventionally required to grow, prepare and distribute produce.

The MOU proposes that North America’s first VertiCrop(TM) unit be installed on the roof levels of the EasyPark parking lot at 535 Richards Street in downtown Vancouver, or a similar location. The business will be operated by a new joint venture between Valcent and PSWJ.

“We’re very excited about the possibility of having North America’s first VertiCrop(TM) operation installed in the progressive City of Vancouver,” said Stephen Fane, CEO of Valcent Products Inc. “The way we produce food today will not satisfy global demand in the future. VertiCrop(TM) is the paradigm shift that we need in agriculture.”

The City of Vancouver has set the goal of being the world’s greenest city 2020 and EasyPark will provide the opportunity to showcase the VertiCrop(TM) technology and demonstrate a sustainable local food production facility.

“The proposed VertiCrop(TM) installation in the City of Vancouver showcases our ability to adapt our urban assets to meet changing market demands and promote environmental leadership,” said General Manager Mel McKinney for EasyPark. “This long-term lease generates direct financial benefit to Vancouverites while showcasing Vancouver’s sustainability innovation.”

The MOU calls for the formal lease agreement to be completed within 90 days of today’s signing.

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As potential uses for building and parking lot roofspace continue to grow, unique opportunities to understand and profit from this trend will emerge. Roof Options is committed to tracking the evolving uses of roof estate – spanning solar power, rainwater harvesting, wind power, gardens & farms, “cooling” sites, advertising, apiculture, and telecom transmission platforms – to help unlock the nascent, complex, and expanding roofspace asset class.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has held a lifelong interest in environmental and conservation issues, primarily as they relate to freshwater scarcity, renewable energy, and national park policy. Working from a water-scarce base in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he is the founder of Water Politics, an organization dedicated to the identification and analysis of geopolitical water issues arising from the world’s growing and vast water deficits, and is also a co-founder of SmartMarkets, an eco-preneurial venture that applies web 2.0 technology and online social networking innovations to motivate energy & water conservation. He previously worked for an independent power producer in Central Asia; co-authored an article appearing in the Summer 2010 issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal, titled: “The Water Ethic: The Inexorable Birth Of A Certain Alienable Right”; and authored an article appearing in the inaugural issue of Johns Hopkins University's Global Water Magazine in July 2010 titled: “H2Own: The Water Ethic and an Equitable Market for the Exchange of Individual Water Efficiency Credits.”

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