FlNAJOHARIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The former Beech-Nut plant stood as a pillar of the local community, a driver of the Canajoharie economy and workforce. Since Beech-Nut relocated to the town of Florida, new ideas have circulated for reviving the site.
So long as it doesn’t all go up in smoke, plans are in motion for a $15 million indoor cannabis growing facility at the site. Shovels are reading to break ground on a new facility named for its location just off Thruway exit 29.
E29 Labs is the proposed name for the new company primed to support a growing Montgomery County cannabis industry. Planners have already applied for official approval from state regulators for the operation.
“We entered into a purchase and sale agreement with them a few years back,” said Vincenzo Nicosia, the Director of Program Development at the Montgomery County Business Development Center. “They’re waiting on the licensing process from the state to come on board.”
County officials say the project will bring life back to the workforce. “They’ve lost a lot of jobs and infrastructure,” Nicosia said. “Bringing back 110 jobs in the first phase will really help change that village around and have some more activity.”
Fulton-Montgomery Community College will provide certificate programs to run in tandem with E29 Labs, giving students a hands-on approach. “We probably had around 25 to 30 students complete the certificates and are actually working locally in the field and in different areas,” said Christie Davis, the Director of External Partnerships and Applied Learning at FMCC. “It’s been a successful program so far, and we look forward to having more students from the community to take these courses.”
It’s still not clear when the application will be approved, or the business can break ground on the facility. E29 Labs already has approval from the Village of Canajoharie planning board.