Construction could begin as early as October at the medical marijuana greenhouse on Lasalle Road.
That from President Woody Pastorius who outlined some of the BC company’s plans for the Enniskillen Pepper Company property.
Tilray is set to take possession of the greenhouse in October and Pastorius says construction on what is expected to be a $30 million investment will begin almost right away on a production area which will include shipping and the safe where the medical marijuana will be stored.
“I would say in 2018 we’ll probably give most of our attention to phase one (the current greenhouse) so we can figure out what we’re doing. That will probably give us an idea how we will build that second phase because…we’ve only ever grown indoors.”
Phase Two will be another 13 acres directly behind the shipping area.
The company has begun its search for employees. Tilray’s top grower will be in the community to set up the greenhouse for at least the first year. Pastorius expects the first plants to arrive from BC by March.
And he says they plan a job fair, likely in October. Most of the positions will be labourers to start with a starting wage around the $15 minimum wage. He expects by the end of 2018 there may be as many as 50 people working on site.
He also addressed security with about 50 people who came out to the public meeting at Enniskillen’s township office. Pastorius says the company will thoroughly screen applicants. People with a criminal record or who associate with people with criminal records won’t be hired.
He added the perimeter of the building will be surrounded by an eight-foot fence topped by barbed wire and there will be hundreds of security cameras monitoring both the interior and the exterior. “Nobody is going to get in there.”
While security will be high, the greenhouse won’t look like a compound. The company plans to landscape to make it more appealing.