By: Conor Eckert, Vice President of Business Attraction - Orange County Partnership

Cannabis processing is a dynamic industry sector, primed to help advance our manufacturing goals. I recently had the pleasure of sitting on the Cannabis Site Selection panel at the New York State Economic Development Council’s annual conference last month, along with industry and real estate experts. The goal of the panel was to share the economic development value of cannabis manufacturing – and how economic developers can prepare sites, communities, and infrastructure to win competitive site selection requirements for multi-state operators and local processors alike.

The key variables in site selection tend to be like most other manufacturing projects:

·       Robust power infrastructure

·       Access to public water/sewer preferred

·       Proximity (with a degree of distance) to highway arteries

·       Labor/Ag fundamentals

The more nuanced aspects of siting a cannabis project is related to mitigating community impacts, similar to most projects. Locating a cultivation/processing project should take into account the site’s critical adjacencies – distance from community infrastructure (parks, churches, etc.) and residential areas. Additionally, it’s critical to build relationships in communities with viable cannabis sites well before a project is proposed. Early education and engagement are critical for avoiding friction when a project lands. It’s equally valuable to determine if the scale/type of project is a use that will be supported by the community – if the answer is no, then it saves time for all parties involved.

Orange County has long been a proven geography to locate cannabis processing/cultivation operations – Pharmacann in Hamptonburgh, Green Thumb Industries in Warwick, and other operators have validated the market. This year, we sited a major cannabis manufacturer from the west coast to central Orange County. Pending licensing, this project will create 200+ good-paying manufacturing and professional jobs. Although the NYS rollout of cannabis has been strained and riddled with inefficiencies, there is light at the end of the tunnel – and Orange County stands to benefit from continued manufacturing opportunities.

Please reach out to the Orange County Partnership for all site selection inquiries.