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Here is the run down on what's up at 61 Hamilton Ave.
Cro-at Developments Inc. owns 61 Hamilton Ave. My partners are Derek Locke and Nick Tzanov. I've known Nick and his wife for 30 plus years, through selling them lettuce and mushrooms. They own Bianca's Restaurant on Water Street. Nick and Derek have been renovating high end condo and residential units for years. They loved the idea of converting the 55 year old Swift Meats Building into 9 townhouses. Which we're calling phase 1. The Lettuce Farm, a 100% artificially lit hydroponic farm, has produced 3000 heads of lettuce, per week/every week for the past twelve years (in the basement @ 61 Hamilton). We had planned to set up a Vertical version of The Lettuce Farm, behind the townhouse project, in the attached three story building. That building was built in 1930. Purity Factories started their operations there before moving to their current location on Blackmarsh Rd. Post Purity Factories, the building housed J.C. Hudson Ltd. That company had 20 year exclusive distributorships for Newfoundland Labrador to sell "Rothman's Cigarettes", "Scotties Chips" and Quasar appliances and TV's. Dr. Tony Brunetti PhD and Dr. Veronica Garcia-Hansen PhD (Brisbane University), have partnered with Snellen Holdings (1994) Co. Ltd. (o/o of The Lettuce Farm). Together we have designed a system which captures natural light and re-directs it into a light pipe system which then illuminates a vertical farm. Terrasphere and the Dutch lighting giant Philips will be working with The Lettuce Farm on a series of Natural light and LED lighting trials. We will be using a different location for our joint venture. The phase 2 portion of Cro-at Developments Inc.'s plan for 61 Hamilton Ave. is to convert the former J.C. Hudson building into Condo's/apartments. Given the overwhelming activity in the St John's Real-Estate market, we have to relocate the hydroponic project so that phase 2 can proceed at it's leisure without The Lettuce Farm having to rip everything apart again to get out of the way. We are currently in negotiations to secure alternate space. Once signed, sealed and delivered things will move quite quickly, and St John's residents will once again be able to purchase The Lettuce Farm's "European lettuce mix" by mid to late summer 2013. That's the Cole's Notes version of what's happening with both The Lettuce Farm and the buildings at 61 Hamilton Ave. |
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