Case Study

Gaia Herbs

Industry

Industrial, Agricultural, HVAC

Project Location

Brevard, NC

Project Scope

8,250 SF Greenhouse, 6,000 SF New Buildings, 46,656 SF Pad

Cooper Construction built two free-standing buildings for Gaia Herbs in Brevard, North Carolina, a head house and a mixing shed.

Both were built around how the company processes herbs, and together they run to about 6,000 square feet.

Cooper erected the 8,250 square foot greenhouse and prepared the 46,656 square foot pad it sits on. A pad that size has to be engineered rather than graded, because a greenhouse will show any movement underneath it.

Cooper had worked on the farm long before the greenhouse. Cooper built the water line extension into the site, tapping an existing main with a 16 inch sleeve and valve and running 16 inch and 10 inch ductile iron with gate valves, hydrant tee and a fire hydrant. Cooper built a new pump station for Gaia in 2023 and still handles HVAC service on the site.

Gaia put the greenhouse to work in the 2023 season on the last 6,000 flats of a seedling program that ran to more than 2.5 million starts. Farm operations assistant manager Zachary West said the added space lets the farm start more transplants earlier, so they have time to establish and put down solid roots before winter. The farm covers nearly 270 acres of Regenerative Organic Certified land.