Vertical Aeroponic Farm: Newark, 69,000 Square Feet

Newark recently broke ground on the world's largest vertical farm, which will be located on a converted, 3-acre site in the city's Ironbound district. The 69,000-square-foot facility is expected to open by the end of 2015, according to a release.

The farm will aim to produce two million pounds of fresh vegetables a year. Its investors include Goldman Sachs, Prudential, the city of Newark and New Jersey's economic development authority, the release said.

The farm is operated by AeroFarms and uses aeroponic technology: a nutrient-rich mist is sprayed over leafy greens like kale and arugula. The plants grow indoors without soil, New York's WNYC reported. 

"A vertical farm is nothing more than a multiple-story, high-tech greenhouse," said Dickson Despommier, a retired environmental studies professor at Columbia University who is widely considered to be the inventor of the vertical farm, according to WNYC.

AeroFarms plans to sell greens to restaurants in the neighborhoods, local retailers, and a Whole Foods that is to be built in downtown Newark, WNYC said.

The garden will be part of a downtown development called Teachers Village that, from its reports, will provide affordable housing and businesses.