BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Urban Development Corporation (BUDC) has voted unanimously to sell land in the Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park to Flora California Prime Inc. (Flora), a health and wellness space based in San Diego with operations throughout California and offices in Buffalo.
Designated New York State Build-Now Shovel Ready Certified Site, Flora has plans to use the 47 acre plot of land for a $200 million high-tech Cannabis Campus which could bring 500 to 1,000 jobs to Buffalo.
According to a release, there will be a commitment to minority hiring and a strong preference to hiring City of Buffalo residents.
The campus, one of the largest of its kind in the nation, is expected to have 1.25-million square feet of buildable space anchored by a high-tech cannabis factory to support Flora's cultivation, manufacturing and distribution needs in New York State.
Flora will also operate an extraction laboratory and conduct product development, research and house its New York corporate offices on the Campus.
Flora has aligned with the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to conduct a robust medical research program on the Campus.
SUNY Erie Community College has also agreed to participate in the Campus, developing curriculum to train the local workforce in the growing cannabis industry, the first of its kind.
"With Flora's investment at Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park, Buffalo stands at the forefront of the legal cannabis industry that is growing statewide and internationally," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. "Flora's investment will benefit our area by increasing job opportunities, adding to our tax base and strengthening the institutions that partner will flora on research and development. I am also pleased that Flora will soon be announcing a community benefit strategy in line with my commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in Buffalo."
Flora is expected to begin construction following approval from the New York State Legislature of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's anticipated recreational marijuana legislation.
The BUDC approved to sale of the land to Flora for $1.9 million.
The project is a joint venture between Flora and Zephyr Investors, a San Diego real estate company led by Buffalo native Brad Termini, co-founder and board director of Flora.
