One part of the operation, dubbed Cannaffornia, is a lofty project that borrows from the wine industry’s playbook.
Cannaffornia’s two consumption and retail lounges, Queen of Dragons and The Other Guys, are now open.
Phase 2 of the Heber-area project is scheduled to open in “fall 2021.” It will include a 4,500-square-foot distribution center, 4,500 square feet of manufacturing space, and 40,000 square feet of indoor and greenhouse cultivation space, according to Tim Wright, chief executive officer of Cannaffornia’s developer, Shasta Management.
Cannaffornia is expected to raise much needed tax revenues for Imperial County, and breathe new life into the shuttered Imperial Center, which went into receivership in 2018 after investors took their business elsewhere and the county and others sued.
Although cannabis operations in California have been legal since 2016 thanks to Proposition 64, industrial-scale cultivation and distribution have yet to get off the ground in the Imperial Valley.
27, Imperial County Planning & Development Services has not received any applications for distribution or manufacturing at this location.
Trinity’s retail permit passed over to new owners, who opened the retail storefront MexCal Factory in spring 2020, and Calexico Distribution Co.
CBP agents at the Highway 86 checkpoint seize thousands of pounds of illegal drugs every year.
“State laws that decriminalize marijuana do not preclude the federal government from enforcing the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.
It’s a taxable substance,” Imperial County District 1 Supervisor Jesus Escobar said recently.
Illicit marijuana growers across California are tapping into fire hydrants and pulling water from rivers and private wells to water their crops.
But Wright maintains he doesn’t have to worry about water or power.
“Each brand is building their own ‘vibe center’ at Cannaffornia, whether it’s System of a Down’s 22Red.
Also, Shasta Management was integral in working with the county to modify the existing tax structure making it more competitive for cannabis operators.
The Imperial Center was developed on an EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program site.
“It was a legitimate investment site, and it was doing well.
The county was so bullish on the project that it approved a $2 million loan from the Community Benefits program.
Presently, the Imperial Center is under court-ordered receivership, and the property is being managed for the interests of its lien holders, one of which is Imperial County.
Ideally with the leases on the property, the dispensary, it brings up the value on the property because there’s revenues.