True Leaf Medicine International Ltd., a global plant-based healthcare brand for people and their pets, announced that construction of its cannabis cultivation facility being built in Lumby is well underway and is on schedule to be completed by fall 2018.
The first phase of the project is planned to include a 9,000-square-foot building for the initial grow area, laboratory services, whole-plant extraction, and production of therapeutic cannabis products, plus a 16,000-square-foot cannabis cultivation facility. Together, the facilities will be known as True Leaf Campus, a hub for the development of the company’s medicinal cannabis products.
A development permit was submitted and approved, and a building permit has been submitted. The existing structure on the site has been demolished and the excavation work and site grading are complete. The concrete for the foundation is being poured and the steel is being shipped to the site which aligns with the company’s timeline to erect the building in mid-May.
“With construction well underway at True Leaf Campus, True Leaf is getting closer to its inspection by Health Canada and the final milestone of receiving our license to produce and sell cannabis,” said Darcy Bomford, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of True Leaf. “In conjunction with our build, we are also assembling a world-class team to help develop our medicinal cannabis products and bring a whole range of plant-based wellness products to market.”
The project is expected to employ approximately 150 workers during construction and create 35 full and part-time jobs at the start of operations. True Leaf seeks to become a major employer in Lumby, a hard-hit logging community of 1,700 in the northeast corner of the Okanagan Valley.
The facility is being built on a 40-acre site owned by True Leaf, so the company is well-positioned to expand to meet future market demands.