Community & Urban Greenhouses
We provide customized greenhouse solutions for communities, urban spaces, and rooftops—designed to meet a wide range of goals. Whether serving veterans groups, youth programs, Indigenous communities, non-profits, or neighborhood initiatives, we support those focused on helping others over turning a profit.
Urban and rooftop greenhouses—both non-traditional and important—can serve communities or operate independently. As farming shifts closer to cities, we’re here to help build food resilience, create economic opportunities, and strengthen social connections through thoughtful, adaptable greenhouse design

Ceres Community & Urban Greenhouse Design
A year-round greenhouse can offer both a vibrant community gathering space and place to grow and harvest fresh food to any group, business or individual with the need for local food.
Community greenhouse applications can include:
- Season extenders for existing farms
- Seed starting operations
- Rural communities in existing food deserts
- Urban communities in existing food deserts
- Community Centers
- Veterans Facilities
- First Nation Tribes/ Native American Tribes
- Retirement Communities

Why Build a Community Greenhouse?
Beside being able to provide your community with a fresh supply of produce year round there are many other benefits one might consider as a reason to operate a Community Greenhouse, including:
- Health benefits- reduce symptoms of depression, stress, dementia, and improve mobility
- Increased connection to nature
- Social cohesion- opportunities to build teamwork and get to know each other
- Higher learning- expand knowledge on subjects such as: biology, control systems, architecture and aquaponics
- Food sovereignty- greenhouses can provide communities with the tools and resources to decrease dependence on unreliable food systems
Rooftop Greenhouse Applications
Rooftop greenhouses are the logical growing option where space is a limiting factor; and they are ideal for producing food or providing gardening options to those who might not otherwise have an opportunity to grow.
Rooftop greenhouses may also serve the following applications:
- Communal sunroom- warm living harbor in a cold climate
- Grocery store produce supply- combining growing & shopping
- Restaurant adjunct- a beautiful space to sit and be served above a restaurant, coffee shop, or hotel
- Restaurant production space- food is grown above a restaurant in order to preserve freshness, reduce travel expenses, etc.
- Community room, hotel atrium, event center, etc.- there are limitless opportunities and applications for using a “green house” space
Ceres has partnered with European Manufacturers to provide custom greenhouse solutions engineered specifically for rooftop agriculture.
Rooftop Greenhouse Benefits
- Increased access and availability of fresh produce
- Energy savings- heat from the greenhouse can be used to heat the building
- Water savings- reduces stormwater runoff by capturing and using rainwater for irrigation
- Improved air quality- more moisture and oxygen that can be filtered back into the building
- Reduction in “urban heat island effect”
- Increased property value- urban greenhouses are attractive structures that bring value to the community
- Land savings- in some situations space is limited, and in others land is unaffordable for many
- Transportation cost savings- farm to table travel distance is greatly reduced, as well as supply chain challenges that arise from a long distance food economy
- Community asset- rooftop greenhouses can increase community engagement in local agriculture, provide an educational opportunity in understanding food systems, and can support existing initiatives to aid underserved communities

Access Greenhouses Related Brochures
Get detailed specs, design options and more inside

Calculate Your Energy Savings
Find out how much you can save with Ceres Greenhouses compared to other greenhouses.

Urban Rooftop & Community Greenhouse Technology
One centralized system for controlling the whole environment. Monitor temperature, relative humidity, and CO2, leaf/ canopy temp, PAR, lighting zones, and outdoor weather.
We offer Ceres designed EcoLoop™ or EcoPack™ HVAC options depending on growing goals, budget, site constraints, and greenhouse type.All Ceres environmental controls are custom integrated to suit your needs.
The GAHT® system is a ground to air heat exchanger, a system often referred to as a ‘Climate Battery’. Ceres leads the industry in climate battery technology, having designed and installed more systems in greenhouses than any other company in the world.
Different crops may demand specific lighting requirements. We offer a variety of lighting solutions designed to suit the needs of each individual operation.
A NetZero greenhouse will have zero net emissions. This goal is achieved through capturing and storing energy. This can be done using a various system options.
Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene is a durable, high light transmissive glazing option. It offers more than 95% light transmission, including the UV spectrum. More than other greenhouse companies, Ceres is implementing full spectrum glazings for maximum crop growth.
Community Greenhouse Video Content
Check Out Our Past Projects
Rooftop Greenhouses & Urban Greenhouses FAQs
Yes. As long as the underlying structure is built with enough strength to support the rooftop greenhouse installing a greenhouse on an existing building is possible.