MassDevelopment has sold 14 acres of land at Devens and provided a loan to aid Little Leaf Farms in the construction of greenhouse facility.

The $4.5 million loan will go toward the construction and equipping of the facility, aimed at producing pesticide-free and locally grown leafy green vegetables. The company plans to grow baby lettuces and greens in its fully automated greenhouse, which will be available to consumers in stores within a day after they are harvested. The greenhouse will be fully automated, and feature rainwater recycling, advanced LED lighting and ultra-high efficiency heating systems.

Little Leaf founder and CEO Paul Sellew was previously the cofounder of Backyard Farms in Maine, which is now the largest producer of greenhouse tomatoes on the East Coast.

“Little Leaf Farms is proud to partner with MassDevelopment and greatly appreciates the agency’s financial support in starting and building our business in Massachusetts,” Sellew said in a statement. “Little Leaf Farms has constructed and is now starting up the world’s most technologically advanced greenhouse that will set the new standard in producing the highest quality, best-tasting year-round baby greens for the New England consumer. We view our company as an important part of the growing local food movement creating greater food security for our region. We are proud to be part of the Devens business community and look forward to growing our business there.”