CHICOPEE – City council will be considering a proposal to build a $ 15 million marijuana grow facility in a former industrial building after one of its sub-committees gave the proposal the go-ahead.
The council’s zoning committee voted 4-0 on Thursday to recommend that Mass Alternative Care Inc. be granted special permission to locate a 56,000-square-foot cannabis grow facility in part of an approximately 154,000-square-foot industrial building on 77 Champion Drive.
It also approved five exemptions from the regulations, including two that reduced the required 30-foot planting buffer between a cannabis farm and a residential area, and at least one that was considered a formality due to an outdated rule in the city’s zoning law.
Mass Alternative Care Inc. opened the first Hampden County’s cannabis store in 2018 with a medical marijuana retail store at 1247 East Main St., then expanded it to include recreational sales in July 2019. East Main St. also includes an annex and manufacturing facility.
“It’s just a manufacturing facility,” said AJ Crane, owner of A. Crane Construction, who are renovating the building for the new project. “There is no public access at all.”
He called it an “ideal location” for business. The building is located in an industrial zone that allows cannabis cultivation. There is no problem with water or electricity and the entire property is surrounded by a gate fence. It is also far from churches, schools, and other protected uses.
The project is almost identical to an Apical Inc. from Easthampton that was proposed in March 2019. The zoning committee had voted in favor of recommending the plan at the time, but that company never carried out the development, said city planner Lee Pouliot.
“You had a good idea. We decided to do the same, ”said Crane. “Same building. Same presentation. Same use.”
The company currently has six cultivation rooms and the new location, if approved, would have a dozen and allow owners to grow operations by 300%, said Kevin Collins, manager of Mass Alternative Care.
If approved, the company would hire about 100 full- and part-time employees who would earn salaries ranging from $ 30,000 per year for those with little experience to about $ 45,000 for more experienced growers, Collins said.
Combined with the $ 15 million investment, the company will pay up to 20% tax, including 6.25% sales tax, 10.75% excise tax, and local city and town option tax up to 3%. It has paid the city more than $ 2 million in water, sewer and electricity usage fees since the first store opened.
A neighbor has signed up for the virtual meeting. While she had no complaints about the proposal, she asked questions about odors from the building, which Collins said was treated with a high-tech ventilation system with odor control scrubbers.
Alderman George Balakier also asked about the other company, Holden Humphry, which sells building materials and is located in the 77 Champion Drive building.
Barbara Green, who represents the building owners, said they had spoken to the owners and they had no complaints about the new proposal.
Related content: