Up Top Acres

Up Top Acres designs, installs and operates commercial rooftop farms. We establish agriculture as a fixture of urban life by farming on underutilized rooftops and by offering the following services:

•Design, Installation and maintenance of greenroof rooftop farming systems.

•Fresh vegetables and local honey marketed through farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture and local restaurants.

•A living classroom and community gathering space for educational programming and farm dinners.

•A venue for private gatherings such as farm dinners and tastings.

•A tool for building owners to comply with stormwater regulations, earn LEED credits, and reach their sustainability goals while turning a profit.

•Job training for residents in urban agriculture, greenroof construction, business development and more

We convert neglected spaces into viable sources of income and environmental safeguards, transforming a societal and environmental drain into a valuable commodity.

Our rooftop farms are built into a 'green roof' system. This allows developers to comply with stormwater regulations, and at the same time, we lease rooftop space from developers, adding rentable area to the building while providing savings on regular maintenance costs associated with standard green roofs. The farm system functions as a green roof, generating up to 16 LEED credits and fulfilling mandatory environmental regulations through stormwater retention, energy conservation, heat island reduction, and habitat preservation.

We're currently operating three rooftop farms, totaling 10,000 square feet, that provide produce to local restaurants and residents and have plans of opening another 20,000 square feet next year.

Up Top Acres will be a model for the rest of the city and subsequently, the rest of the country for how to maximize the use of its urban space and integrate intelligent city planning with effective business practice and and proactive community engagement.

Funded by Washington, DC (December 2015)