This company is turning empty offices across America into farms

"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's looking to empty office buildings as potential future farms."

"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, and Raleigh-Durham, and Atlanta. His goal is to build indoor farms within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population."

"Today studies estimate that most produce travels hundreds of miles before it reaches the end consumer. "The production of our food just gets pushed further and further away," Falkowitz says. "As a result of this distance the stores are asking growers to produce things that are more shelf-stable, not necessarily more diverse or more nutritional.""

Many office buildings emptied by the pandemic remain vacant, with nationwide office vacancy rates above 20% in Q2 2025. Arlington-based Area 2 Farms repurposes unusual urban spaces into indoor farms, growing dozens of crop varieties in a low-slung brick facility. The company raised $9 million from Seven Seven Six, Slow Ventures, 468 Capital, and Animo and plans to build ten farms across the U.S. in 2026, targeting cities including Philadelphia, Charlotte, Nashville, South Florida, Orlando, Austin, Raleigh-Durham, and Atlanta. The company aims to place farms within ten miles of 90% of the U.S. population to shorten supply chains and increase produce diversity.

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