Chicago Landmark to Bloom Again as Urban Farming Innovation Center
February 19, 2026 
Indoor vertical farm. | Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
A vacant Chicago landmark, once a department store in the late 1800s, will become an urban farming innovation hub thanks to local businessman Marc Calabria and Farm Zero.
Urban Agriculture in Chicago
The property is located in Chicago’s Loop district and was purchased by Calabria in 2025 for $4.2 million. According to reporting from CoStar, Calabria and Farm Zero plan to transform the location, converting the building into “vertical farming racks alongside a health research center and incubator for controlled-environment farming startups, a produce market, restaurants, and a rooftop garden featuring solar panels, greenhouses, and outdoor dining.”
“There are lots of different types of food production that we can co-locate in the building and turn it into an important brain trust,” said Farm Zero’s Russell Steinberg.
Additionally, Calabria wants to convert part of the 485,000 square-foot building space into student and/or senior housing.
The full cost of the redevelopment concerning the projects has yet to be determined, with details expected in the near future.
For additional information on the history behind the site, the project’s plan, and the team behind it, you can read the full story from CoStar here.