POWELL RIVER, B.C. – The City of Powell River is amending its lease-to-purchase agreement with Santé Veritas Therapeutics (SVT) Inc., to allow for expansion of a marijuana production facility.
STV is developing the former Catalyst mill office and surrounding property, which the City owns, into a medical marijuana growing facility.
For an overview of the STV facility, click here.
The amended lease-to-purchase agreement will allow SVT to expand and develop the second and third phases of its operations, bringing with it 80 to 100-plus more jobs along with several million dollars’ worth of investment, according to a City of Powell River release.
The amended agreement will:
- Place a covenant on the upper parking lot used by people attending Dwight Hall events, allowing continued public use
- Place a covenant over a portion of the eastern bank of the property to maintain a treed buffer for Marine Avenue residents
- Involve SVT consenting to a future application by the City to the Province of BC to remove the property from Section 21 of the Powell River Incorporation Act (1955)
Mayor David Formosa said one of the main reasons council is considering this amended purchase agreement is because it realizes how important this business will be to the community with regard to jobs, investment and new tax revenue.
To facilitate its expansion plans, SVT wants to purchase all the City-owned lands surrounding the old mill office building, which includes the entire parking lot used by Dwight Hall patrons.
The covenant would assure parking space for people attending Dwight Hall events.
The covenant on the eastern bank of the property will ensure that the treed buffer remains.
“I think that council is comfortable with the way the lines have been drawn,” Formosa said. “This is a good compromise and Santé Veritas Therapeutics has agreed to it.
“The planned expansion will provide for a number of good jobs and will add to the prosperity of the community.”
