Centennial City Council is expected to vote on the zoning change next month.
Jennifer Bousselot, a Colorado State University professor and program lead with Green Roof Research, takes care of flowers and vegetables on a rooftop garden at the CSU Terra building in Denver on Sept. 7, 2022. Green roof systems and the greenhouse atop the building are examples of how urban spaces can be used for plant and food production.
Denver-based Sphere Sports Management is the entity behind a proposed nine-story hotel and attached sports complex — complete with indoor ice rinks, turf fields, a pool and basketball courts — in The District. The greenhouse would sit atop the sports complex. The greenhouse will use assembly-line technology from Finnish company Green Automation to plant, grow and harvest the lettuce without soil, minimizing human contact with the produce and allowing the operation to run lean, with about a dozen employees on hand. A system of troughs holding the lettuce will continuously move and adjust as the plants grow.