Cannabis construction is far more complicated than simply designing another retail or industrial building. Zoning restrictions, security requirements, electrical infrastructure, HVAC, permitting and highly specialized operational requirements can make or break a project before construction even begins.
In this episode of What the RFI?, Matt Brennan sits down with David Fetner, Managing Partner of Grow America Builders, a design-build firm specializing in cannabis facilities.
David walks through what architects, contractors and owners need to understand when designing and constructing cannabis dispensaries, cultivation facilities and manufacturing spaces.
We get into the realities of taking these projects from site selection and zoning through design, permitting, Construction Administration and construction.
WHAT WE COVER
- How cannabis dispensaries and grow facilities are designed
- Cannabis zoning and site selection
- Why a legal state does not necessarily mean a legal project location
- Retail dispensaries vs. cultivation vs. manufacturing facilities
- Security requirements for cannabis facilities
- Vaults, controlled access and security systems
- Electrical infrastructure for indoor cultivation
- Why inadequate power can kill a cannabis project
- HVAC requirements for cannabis grow facilities
- Odor, humidity and environmental control
- Cannabis construction costs and hidden project expenses
- Permitting challenges for cannabis facilities
- Construction Administration on specialized projects
- Managing RFIs and coordination during construction
- Designing facilities around operational requirements
- Lessons learned from building cannabis facilities across the United States
One of the biggest lessons from the conversation happens before the drawings are even started.
A client can sign a lease, hire the design team and then discover that zoning, electrical capacity or another site constraint makes the project financially impossible.
Understanding those requirements early can save enormous amounts of time and money.
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What the RFI? explores the real-world Construction Administration issues architects, engineers, consultants, contractors and owners face after the drawings leave the office and construction begins.
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What the RFI? — The Construction Administration Podcast
Practical guidance for architects, engineers, consultants, contractors, owners, and project managers navigating construction administration.