A vacant, city-owned industrial building could become a hub for new businesses in the field of agricultural technology under a proposal now being explored by Escondido officials.
The City of Escondido now owns a former mattress factory and warehouse where there is a proposal to convert the property into an agricultural and technology incubator. The property sits on 3.5 acres and has 40,000 square feet of industrial space. Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 in Escondido, CA. Council members sounded supportive of the proposal, but wanted to know more about potential costs, including revenue that could be lost if the property is not sold or leased out. Along with the parcel at 455 N. Quince, the city owns two adjacent parcels, totaling 9 acres for all three properties.
Oli Bachie, county director of UC Cooperative Extension for San Diego and Imperial counties, which conducts research and advises the local agriculture community on a range of issues, from pest management to irrigation and nutrition, said the proposed incubator would offer a much-needed facility to conduct basic research and house the program’s equipment.
The hackathon will run from Friday, Oct. 21, through Sunday, Oct. 23. The event is expected to draw as many as 100 participants to form teams, come up with creative solutions to ag-tech problems and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, said Neal Bloom, managing partner at Interlock Capital, who was hired by the city to organize the hackathon.