The city has accepted a property purchase offer from a craft cannabis company, to build a pot production plant in Powell River.
The deal will see Meridian 125 W Cultivation Limited buy the property for $900,000.
The land, which formerly housed the Catalyst Administration Building, is currently being leased and under option by Santé Veritas Therapeutics [SVT] Inc.
The deal will encompass SVT’s assets in the building, as well as plans to license and operate the production facility.
It has a number of conditions including the City securing an option to purchase the property back for the original price, plus the cost of new capital improvements, if Meridian is unsuccessful in securing a license to operate from Health Canada.
“This deal is about generating new investment in the community and creating good paying jobs to ensure our economy continues to grow,” said Mayor Dave Formosa.
“Council is impressed with Meridian’s plans for the facility and its senior management team, which has been involved in building successful operations in other parts of the province and country.”
Formosa noted that SVT had invested close to $13 million in establishing a cannabis operation on the property, but after a change in ownership and shifts in the marketplace, the new US based owners were not interested in operating a production facility in Canada.
“The cannabis market has changed. The focus is now on producing a high-quality product rather than quantity. That’s Meridian’s business plan. They will invest in bringing the facility up to Health Canada standards for licensing a craft operation that could eventually employ up to one hundred people.”
Other conditions include:
- the successful subdivision of the approximate two acre property; and
- demise of the current lease to purchase agreement with SVT.
The deal is scheduled to complete on or before Nov. 30th.
