A Montreal-based medical marijuana company is taking over a controversial rooftop garden in Vancouver after the original operators went bankrupt.
Affinor says it has purchased the assets belonging to Alterrus, which grew baby greens on the top floor of the city-owned parking garage in the 500-block of Richards Street.
But don't expect any pot to start popping up. Executive chairman Nick Brusatore says Affinor only plans to grow food.
"The rooftop in Vancouver is all about sustainable food, I can promise you that," Brusatore told WE Vancouver. "In fact, I supplied a letter to the city that made it quite clear that there will be no applications for marijuana. I don't even like the marijuana markets. I can't get a $100-million purchase order for marijuana in Canada but I can get one for strawberries."
In an email, the city confirmed that the final draft of the licence agreement signed by Affinor was "only for the cultivation and production of food, including fruits, vegetables, edible herbs and legumes."
When the greenhouse first launched in November 2012, Alterrus projected it could produce 150,000 pounds of pesticide-free leafy green vegetables and herbs to be distributed to local restaurants and grocers.
The project — touted by Mayor Gregor Robertson as an example of Vancouver’s “booming clean tech sector” – closed when Alterrus Systems Inc. and its subsidiary Local Garden Vancouver Inc. declared bankruptcy Jan. 21 after less than two years of operation.
Brusatore said Affinor won't face the same financial issues.
"There's no pressure on this facility," he said. "It's paid for, cash. There's no debt."
Alterrus had a 10-year deal with the city to lease the property for $4,800 a month. When that deal was first announced, it prompted NPA Coun. George Affleck to issue a press release at that time calling for the city to invite the auditor general for local government to examine the contract between Alterrus and the city.
Brusatore says the new owners have the same agreement.
He also says Affinor expects to have the old facility producing baby greens again within the next 60 days, and is working on a proposal to expand the facility with new structures for the cultivation of mechanically-pollinated strawberries.
Brusatore says the crops will be sold to Choices Markets.
According to Brusatore, Affinor has also recently met with the University of British Columbia and the University of the Fraser Valley to fund aquaculture and greenhouse projects with their equipment. He says the company ultimately hopes to utilize its connections with the universities to run new wave agriculture and vertical farming technology training programs out of the rooftop facility.
"I'm all about solving world hunger, world crop problems," said Brusatore. "I'm just excited to do this. If this small company does nothing but create jobs and we learn more from it, but I don't lose my butt, then that's fine."
Affinor, which became the first Canadian company to grow and sell marijuana in the United States in August, intends to market its vertical farming technology, along with Alterrus' old greenhouse patents, to increase its stake in the medical marijuana market.
'I'm not going to mention marijuana for the City of Vancouver [but] if the city is interested, now I can help you," said Brusatore, "I can do it better than anybody for the city, and we could easily put the City of Vancouver as the instant leader as well."
– with files from Mike Howell
