LAWRENCE, Mich. — A marijuana grow facility in Van Buren County will be the largest indoor cannabis-grow operation in the state once it's completed.
It is expected to produce up to 80,000 pounds in a year.
When it is all said and done, 305 Farms will be a 350,000-square-foot facility.
The first phase, which is 60,000 square feet, will begin growing plants in just one week.
"We are really trying to boost the local economy here and boost what people’s standards of living are," said 305 Farms' Director of Campus Operations Luke McPeeters.
305 Farms is located in the Village of Lawrence in Lawrence Industrial Park. They hope to create the largest indoor cannabis-cultivation facility in the state, and third largest in the country.
"Localization was to ensure that we can produce the best product without there ever being a hiccup we couldn’t control," said McPeeters.
It is being built in three phases with the first already completed and the second underway.
A marijuana grow facility that opened in #Lawrence will grow up to 80,000 plants a year and is expected to be the largest indoor cannabis grow facility in Michigan, once completed.
— Lauren Kummer (@LaurenKummerTV) March 18, 2022
It will start growing its first plants next week. @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/JDycDlY6OR
Its focus is seed to shelf — growing the plants, processing them and then turning them into products like edibles, prerolls and concentrates for retail.
"Michigan as far as our ability to stack licenses, our ability to scale up our infrastructure. We are approved for 40 Class C licenses, so that is a lot of cannabis that we can produce on a yearly basis. For Lawrence, it was those three things, right? Close to the highway, able to cover our natural resource needs like energy, power and then the people," said McPeeters.
305 Farms is bringing jobs to the area, already creating 50 jobs with plans to hire more employees.
RELATED: Michigan marijuana industry jobs see 72% increase in 2021, report finds
"We’re at $20-an-hour base; that comes with opportunity throughout our company. Benefits come with that as well," said McPeeters.
Plus, the village of Lawrence is benefiting as well.
"A lot of different taxes and fees go to Lawrence themselves; so far we have done $141,000 worth of administrative fees. We will do $200,000 a year plus $2 million in licensing fees year after year," said McPeeters.
All three phases are expected to be completed by 2025. By that time, 305 Farms said they'll employ around 200 people.
If you're interested in applying for a job at 305 Farms, click here for more information.
RELATED: Tax revenue from marijuana sales benefits communities across the U.S.
