Lender puts Lisbon greenhouse complex up for auction

A 168-acre greenhouse complex in Lisbon that’s been home to a major aquaponics operation is scheduled for a lender-ordered live auction Oct. 23 through Tranzon Auction Properties. The site had been Springworks Farm, which produced lettuce and tilapia using nutrient-rich water from the fish to fertilize the lettuce. "Somebody is going to do very well here," said Mike Carey, Tranzon’s co-CEO. "The glass is up, the boilers are in, the packing line is there and none of that has to be permitted, financed or built." Lettuce and fish The campus was developed by Springworks Farm, an aquaponics operation founded in 2014 by Trevor Kenkel. It started with a 6,000-square-foot greenhouse and grew to be one of the largest greenhouse lettuce producers in the Northeast. By 2021, Springworks was staffed by nearly 40 employees and sold organic lettuce and herbs to Hannaford Supermarkets across New England and New York and to Whole Foods’ New England stores. The company also supplied farmed tilapia to Harbor Fish Market in Portland. Kenkel was recognized on the 2021 Mainebiz Next list for his contributions to Maine's economy. Most recently, Springworks was growing five million heads of lettuce, including romaine, green crispy and bibb, and nearly 180 tons of tilapia per year, according to its website. News outlets reported earlier this month that the status of the business was unclear. Mainebiz reached out to Kenkel on Tuesday but was unsuccessful by press time. Light industrial The property, at 347 Lisbon St., is being marketed as a sizeable piece of commercial real estate and a light industrial campus. The campus includes approximately 117,000 square feet of greenhouse growing space and approximately 56,000 square feet of attached headhouse buildings used for propagation, packing, cold storage and offices, as well as a farmhouse and support buildings. The four headhouse buildings were built between 2014 and 2024. “Headhouse” is a greenhouse industry term denoting what most of the market would call light industrial space. The newest and largest structure, built in 2024, is a 73,600-square-foot greenhouse with a 24-foot eave height, two gas-fired boilers supplying heat and carbon dioxide and a standby generator. The structures are all on town water, sewer and natural gas. The property has 667 feet of frontage on Route 196. A buyer could restart production or the property could be repurposed for other uses, said Carey. The greenhouses grow lettuce and greens in water-filled float tanks, where plants sit on floating rafts. They have temperature, lighting and air controls. Installed equipment includes water filtration and chemistry systems, nutrient delivery systems and lettuce packaging equipment. Fish tank systems remain in place in the headhouses, but fish production is not active. The auction is scheduled to start Oct. 23, at 11 a.m. Remote bidding will be available but must be arranged in advance. Property tours are scheduled for Oct. 8, at 3 p.m., and Oct. 14, at 1 p.m. Private showings are available to qualified buyers with 24 hours' notice. A $50,000 deposit in certified funds is required to bid.