Many of the office buildings emptied by the pandemic are still sitting vacant. A recent report from Moody's Analytics found that in the second quarter of 2025, office vacancy rates were still above 20 percent nationwide, and cities across the country are still trying to figure out what, if anything, to do about it. One startup has an unconventional solution: It wants to fill that empty space with crops.
Area 2 Farms is a three-year-old company based in Arlington, Virginia, that’s taking the concept of indoor farming to unusual spaces. Its first farm, in Arlington, grows dozens of varieties of crops in a low-slung brick building tucked between a dog day care and a car repair shop. With a new infusion of venture capital, the company is planning to expand, and it is looking to empty office buildings as potential future farms.
"Part of our vision is that a farm can go anywhere," said Oren Falkowitz, the company's founder.
Backed by $9 million in new funding from Seven Seven Six, Slow Ventures, 468 Capital and Animo, Area 2 Farms is planning to build 10 new farms across the U.S. in 2026. Falkowitz says the company is currently pursuing opportunities in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Nashville, South Florida, Orlando, Austin, Raleigh-Durham and Atlanta. His goal is to build indoor farms within 10 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population.
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