AUBURN — The city has given an early green light to a massive expansion at Wellness Connection of Maine’s medical marijuana growing facility that would eventually see the building quadruple in size.

Chief Executive Officer Patricia Rosi said Monday that it’s a matter of keeping up with anticipated demand.

“Business is growing steadily and there’s no signs that it will slow down,” she said. “So we’re trying to be proactive and ensure that we can keep delivering high-quality medicine to seriously ill Mainers.”

Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999, but the state only set up a system to sell it after a referendum vote in 2009.

Last year, Maine’s eight licensed dispensaries reported more than $16.2 million in sales, up from $12.5 million in 2013.

Wellness Connection of Maine’s growing facility at 33 Omni Circle, by the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport, supplies Wellness’s Brewer, Gardiner, Portland and Thomaston medical marijuana dispensaries.

Construction is planned in several phases, according to a letter from the project consultant to City Planner Doug Greene. Once finished, the building will expand from 20,000 square feet to 87,817.

The first phase, a $2.5 million project paid for “by operating funds on hand” is expected to break ground shortly and open in the fall, also according to that letter.

“Most of this space will provide additional area for growing and processing,” wrote Michael Gotto of Stoneybrook Consultants. “The remaining construction will depend upon market conditions, but will likely be completed within five years.”

In schematics submitted to the city, the project is split into three major additions, one tied onto the north side of the building, two tied onto the south.

On the south side, labeled phase one: a 100- by 140-foot building with one level, a mezzanine and full basement.

On the south side, labeled phase two: a 100- by 85-foot building attached to phase one.

On the north side: a 100- by 60-foot building, three stories tall with a full basement.

In his written site plan approval, Greene told Gotto that building permits wouldn’t be issued for the north side until a potential issue involving “allowable building heights and area is resolved.”

Greene said that in this case height isn’t an issue — the area is capped at under 50 feet tall and the project is — but there are building restrictions that require a 60-foot buffer around a large building and “the northern expansion could not meet that 60-foot buffer on one side, which is currently preventing that part of the project from being built.”

The rest of the project is able to seek building permits. He said the expansion only required staff-level approval and didn’t need to go to the Planning Board.

There’s nothing in statute that says the company needs state approval to expand, Department of Health and Human Services spokesman John Martins said. 

According to Gotto’s letter, the building is owned by Omni Associates and leased to Wellness Connection of Maine. Wellness’s growing operation has 25 employees. It anticipates expanding to 38 at the end of phase one.

“It is unclear how many new jobs may be required with full construction, but we have shown 95 parking spaces to accommodate future growth,” Gotto wrote.

The facility ran into trouble two years ago when the Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services cited it for 20 violations, including the illegal use of pesticides, selling an illegal form of marijuana and lacking proper security. Wellness officials signed a consent decree with the state agreeing to fixes.

Rosi said getting larger wouldn’t affect its diligence. 

“We will apply the same extremely high standards when it comes to safety, security, also standard operating procedures and compliance,” she said. “The scale doesn’t change the end goal.”

Asked whether phase one was being paid for in cash, Rosi said she wasn’t familiar with the details in Gotto’s letter and that she’d “rather not comment on that.”

kskelton@sunjournal.com

Letter to Doug Greene

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