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Brick Street Farms site for sale, again
“We are so proud of all we accomplished and overcame during incredibly challenging social and economic times for the whole world.”
Brick Street Farms’ founders sold the business last year, and now the urban agriculture startup is back on the market after the new ownership suffered financial distress, forcing the building into receivership.
Founders Shannon O’Malley and Brad Doyle had announced the transition in a public statement in March 2025, writing “It is with profound emotion that we announce that we have parted ways with what was once our baby, Brick Street Farms.” They added “We’ve sold Brick Street Farms; new ownership has taken the reins, and this communication comes with mixed emotions.”
The company built its identity around vertical hydroponic farming, growing leafy greens inside retrofitted shipping containers, a model that drew early attention and helped secure a multimillion-dollar investment from Lykes Bros., one of Florida’s largest agribusiness firms, which took a 20% stake to help scale the concept.
Located at 199 20th St. S, the now-vacant property spans just over a quarter acre and includes a small concrete block building alongside 28 shipping containers, four of which were combined to create a retail and prep space, reflecting the farm’s hybrid of production and direct-to-consumer sales.
Each container was outfitted for indoor growing, forming a modular system designed to maximize output in a compact footprint, and each used roughly 15 gallons of water per day while producing yields comparable to two to three acres of traditional farmland.
Brick Street Farms co-founder Shannon O’Malley in 2021. Photo provided.
More than $4 million has been invested in the site, including extensive container retrofits and infrastructure such as three-phase power and an ozonated water filtration system, all of which supported the farm’s operations and future ambitions.
“We are so proud of all we accomplished and overcame during incredibly challenging social and economic times for the whole world,” the previous owners wrote in 2025, adding, “We have so much love for the employees and relationships we created within this community, bringing such an innovative vertical urban farm to life.”
Debbie Reeser, the commercial real estate agent now managing bids for the sale, was once a customer at Brick Street Farms when O’Malley and Doyle were still running the business, and she told the Catalyst she remembers how compelling the original project felt – now, instead of shopping there, she’s marketing the parcel.
Reeser was hired by an attorney who represents a private lender holding the first and second mortgages on the building. According to them, the building went into receivership (when a building is taken under the control of a court-appointed, neutral third party due to financial distress or mismanagement), though Reeser has not personally been in touch with anyone at the listed owner, GVN, Inc., which has a Ft. Lauderdale address.
The property still features the 28 shipping containers on-site, with four combined into a store and prep area. Each container measures approximately 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8.5 feet high, while the site remains equipped with three-phase power and an advanced ozonated water filtration system, supporting a range of potential operational uses.
In total, more than $4 million has been invested in the purchase and retrofitting of the containers, along with additional property improvements, and today the site, zoned Industrial Traditional (IT) within the SunRunner TEC Overlay, would allow for multifamily development with a maximum building height of 86 feet, while also benefiting from a traffic count of approximately 10,900 AADT, according to the property listing.
