Real estate developers in the New River Valley are hoping to revitalize a historic elementary school and turn it into an indoor agriculture facility called Vegg Inc.
Jefferson Elementary School in Pulaski closed in 1995, and the building has remained vacant for years. A team of developers purchased the property last year for $100,000. Pulaski County and the town of Pulaski loaned them the money.
“The town and county made it possible for us to actually move forward with, like starting the project and the planning,” said Luke Allison, the development officer for Vegg Inc. Allison said they’ll repay the loan to the town and county by the end of this year.
Their plan is to convert the school into an indoor agricultural facility, using methods like aquaponics to grow food. Allison said they don’t want to compete with existing growers. Instead, they want to rent spaces to farmers looking to scale up. Allison notes the high costs of constructing new buildings. He said climate change is bringing an increased need to be innovative when it comes to farming.
Read more at wvtf.org