Lake Orion-based Natrabis, a cannabis company, will start construction on a $20 million high-tech marijuana cultivation facility in its home city. It also plans to build a second facility in Michigan, and expand nationally.
Next week, the company plans to break ground on the 54,000-square-foot building at 4601 Liberty Drive South in Lake Orion. It will include a processing center and various components that it states will reduce the facility’s environmental footprint, improve quality and operating efficiency, and reduce waste.
It plans to build another 54,000-square-foot facility in Michigan and is accepting investors for the project, as well as for expansions into Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. In addition, Natrabis has development plans for five retail locations. Two of the locations are slated for southeast Michigan. Exact locations were not disclosed.
“We’re really excited to bring innovation and new industry opportunities to the local community and the state of Michigan,” says Nick Simpson, partner of Natrabis. “We’ve been in the industry for over 20 years and are committed to producing the highest quality cannabis at an affordable price through the use of cutting-edge technology, and we can’t wait to start growing with Michigan.”
The company stated it has secured more than $20 million in investments through accredited investors and debt partner Advanced Flower Capital to develop the location.
The Lake Orion facility will use a Rhythm fertigation system that houses a built-in environmentally friendly plant run reclaim. With 20,000 plants in the facility, the system will deliver Natrabis’ fertilizer recipe automatically and on-demand through a software program that tracks and manages each plant’s health throughout the growing cycle.
Natrabis also sates it is employing a $4 million HVAC system that recaptures HVAC condensation through an underground filtration system. The condensation is then recycled as clean water to help irrigate the plants. The internal processing facility will use a $2 million on-site lab, outfitted by Troy’s Precision Extraction Solutions, which offers processing equipment.
The project is expected to bring about 65 new jobs to the area. Natrabis will be hiring for plant managers and controllers, compliance officers, lab technicians, cultivation technicians, administrative professionals, janitors, packagers, and marketing and sales experts.
The company expects the facility to be completed in February.
