Jackson lease with Vertical Harvest runs through 2044; $2,806/mo payment

Jackson Town Council’s March 16 consent agenda included approval of an amended-and-restated commercial lease with Vertical Harvest L3C for the town-owned vertical greenhouse building at 155 W. Simpson Ave./160 S. Milward St. (Parcel ID 22-41-16-33-1-08-003). The lease recitals cite a 2013 Wyoming Business Council grant of $1.5 million that helped construct the three-story, 13,500-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse completed in 2015, and frame the public purpose as supporting a sustainable food economy, employing people with developmental disabilities, and public education. See the lease in the council packet: Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Packet.

The new primary term is 18 years, running April 1, 2026 through April 1, 2044, with one additional five-year extension that occurs automatically unless Vertical Harvest opts out at least 90 days before the primary term ends (and only if the tenant is not in default and is current on payments). Under the payment terms, the tenant would pay $80 per month in rent (increasing 3.5% annually) plus a $2,726 per month “revenue recapture” payment meant to help the town recoup its public investment—$2,806 per month combined at the start of the term. Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Packet.

The lease also includes operational conditions tied to public benefit: Vertical Harvest must ensure at least 50% of its employees are persons with disabilities, and provide an annual compliance statement to the town by Jan. 31 each year. The permitted uses are focused on cultivation/harvesting/packaging and storage of produce, related R&D, product sales/marketing, training and workforce development, and office functions supporting those activities. Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda Packet.