Should see orders for Roto-Gro units coming soon from MPX Bioceutical, keeping in mind that MPX had previously said that they anticipated Owen Sound to be a fully Roto-Gro cultivation facility .............
Plan for medical marijuana production facility in Owen Sound clears hurdle
Denis Langlois
Published on: October 1, 2018
North York-based MPX Bioceutical Corp. is planning to start work next week to transform part of the former PPG factory in Owen Sound into a state-of-the-art medical marijuana production facility, says the property’s owner.
“They’re moving ahead with their renovation plans; with their improvements,” Peter Van Dolder of ANDPET Realty said Monday in an interview.
“They want to start with fire-coating and fire-proofing the steel beams in the basement and they’re moving ahead with all their contracts to refit the building for offices and washrooms. They have pretty elaborate plans for both the main floor and the basement area. So it’s all good.”
The marijuana facility project, first announced in January 2015, took a significant step forward Monday night when city council approved a site plan application from ANDPET Realty for its Peninsula Pro Growth Business Park property at the southeast corner of 16th Avenue and 20th Street East.
The plan calls for dividing the remaining 251,000-square-foot section of the former PPG plant into several units, including one for a two-floor medical marijuana production facility with 35,000 square feet of space on the main level and 48,000 square feet in the basement.Two “general industrial” units would also be created – one for BWXT Canada and the other for Brotech Precision CNC. Both companies will be suppliers for Bruce Power’s life-extension project.
ANDPET intends to build two warehouse units within the building as well.Pam Coulter, the city’s director of community services, said building plans for the medical marijuana production facility have already been submitted to city hall.“So I know they’re anxious to get going and building,” she said in an interview.Scott Boyes, president and chief executive officer of MPX, could not be reached for comment Monday.
The company, formerly the Canadian Bioceutical Corp., applied to Health Canada in January 2015 to become a licenced producer of marijuana for medical purposes. The application was submitted after the company signed a letter of intent with ANDPET Realty to lease part of the former PPG plant.
Also in 2015, Owen Sound council proactively approved a zoning bylaw amendment that added medical marijuana production facilities as a permitted use on all general and heavy industrial land in the city. Those properties are primarily in the industrial park and include the property where the old PPG plant is located.
Boyes has told The Sun Times that it will cost $5 to $6 million to fully build out its facility in Owen Sound as a marijuana cultivation and production facility.
This spring, MPX acquired all of the shares of Canveda, a licenced producer under Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.
Boyes, in a June 11, 2018, news release, said the acquisition “should accelerate our ability to secure cultivation, sale and dealer licences at our Owen Sound facility.”He said the company plans to focus in Canada “on the production, distribution and retailing of high-quality cannabis distillates and derivative products for the domestic medical and adult use markets and for export to the growing list of countries legalizing the use of medical cannabis.”
MPX’s website says once its Owen Sound facility is fully operational, it will be able to produce about 8,000 kilograms per year of high-quality dried cannabis flower and 300 kg of concentrate from byproduct trim.
The Owen Sound site has enough room to allow for the company to expand, should it decide to, to add another 402,658 square feet of grow space, the company says.Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy said he is happy to see MPX’s Owen Sound project reaching the site plan approval stage.
The production facility will add more jobs in Owen Sound and increase property tax revenue, he said.
Coun. Scott Greig noted that the current council approved the zoning bylaw amendment for medical marijuana production facilities during the first meeting of its term. Now, during the final meeting before the municipal election, it has approved a site plan for the medical marijuana facility.
“So it just goes to show that sometimes development just slowly creeps along and doesn’t just zip along as fast as we’d like,” he said.
