The legalization of marijuana in some jurisdictions has led to the creation of many business opportunities in the marijuana industry. In an effort to capitalize on this growth, Grow Condos, a “publicly-listed real estate company dedicated exclusively to the Cannabis industry”, is looking to develop an industrial condominium with units designed for the growth and processing of marijuana.
The proposed condominium in Eugene, Oregon would be comprised of 32 units with 22-foot-high ceilings. Each unit would be separately metered for water and electricity and the condominium would provide extra security features such as cameras and a six-foot chain-link fence. The developer intends to market the units at $150,000 to $175,000 per unit in a bare shell form. Additional investment would be required by unit owners to make the units serviceable for their business operations.
The creation of specialized marijuana condominiums is a measure that will be welcomed by many. Residential condominiums certainly do not want marijuana grow-ops being operated within residential units. Illegal grow-ops in residential buildings create numerous health and safety concerns for residents, in addition to being a contravention of local bylaws and in many cases, the condominium declaration.
Many industrial condominiums also would prefer not have a marijuana grow-op within the condominium. In a prior blog post we reported about a dispute between a commercial condominium corporation and a unit owner about disproportionate and excessive water use by the unit owner who was growing marijuana in his unit pursuant to a licence from Health Canada. In that case the Court ordered the unit owner to pay for his excessive water use costs so that the other owners of the condominium would not be subsidizing his marijuana-growing activities.
It will be interesting to see if the development of marijuana condominiums becomes common in jurisdictions where marijuana is legal. Time will tell as the industry grows.
