Former Clearwater Organic Farms 183,296 Sq. Ft. Greenhouse in Taylorville, Illinois Going on the Auction Block in July

The former Clearwater Organic Farms Illinois, LLC facility in Christian County shut down in March of 2021 and will be sold via a lender owned sealed bid auction. The site consists of 31.90 leased acres, owned by Waste Management with a long term transferrable lease, a 4 acre greenhouse built in 2007 and an attached 20,000 sf processing facility. The sealed bid auction allows buyers the ability to purchase the assets in Tracts or as an Entirety. Sealed bid offers are due to the auction company by Tuesday, July 11 at 4:00 pm CT. Maas Companies Inc is conducting the auction and specializes in the marketing and liquidation of specialized assets like hydroponic greenhouses for banks, lenders and government agencies nationwide.

In 2018, Clearwater Organic Farms facilitated a multi-million dollar upgrade to the facility to move to controlled environment agriculture (CEA) using floating rafts and deep water pond technology. Lighting, greenhouse automation, nutrient/fertilizer, foggers, seeding/harvesting systems were also updated. A partnership with Lincoln Land Community College in Taylorville provided training to production and technical staff on the most efficient methods for production/processing.

CEA technology allows growers to reduce water usage by 90% compared to field grown lettuce. Clearwater was also able to heat their facility using excess steam generated from the neighboring facility owned by Waste Management of Illinois at a savings of 93.25% per therm. The savings equate to heating bills that average $1,400/month. Clearwater focused on distribution to leading regional grocers within a one-day transportation radius in states like Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

Tyler Maas, Chief Auctionologist with Maas Companies states, "This is a perfect opportunity for a buyer to purchase a state of the art hydroponics greenhouse that has one of the lowest costs to operate in the country. The water and heat savings alone reduce the carbon footprint down to more of a toe print."

Potential buyers are encouraged to inspect the property: Thursday, June 1 & 29 from 9:00 am-3:00 pm. Other times by appointment or anytime via the Matterport 360 Virtual Tour or Drone Video. Details of the sale are available at the auction website: http://www.maascompanies.com or by contacting the auction company directly at 507-285-1444.