A month ago, we posted on Flora California Prime Inc., a “purpose driven cannabis health and wellness manufacturing company” that has set its eyes on Buffalo to build a $200 million high-tech complex called Flora Buffalo. Not only will the company acquire 47 acres of usable land at the Buffalo waterfront, it also plans on hiring between 500 and 1000 employees, many who would be trained through educational opportunities with SUNY Erie Community College. On top of that, Flora has aligned itself with Roswell Park Cancer Institute to conduct medical research in the health and wellness realm.
If approved, the property, a designated New York State Build-Now Shovel Ready Certified Site, will boast one of the largest cannabis research facilities in the nation.
Along with the education component, and the jobs, Flora Buffalo also promises to deliver a significant social impact that will benefit many aspects of Buffalo. A new video has been produced that details many of these advancements, as they relate to The Nickel City. The five minute documentary is anchored by cannabis industry executive and advocate Dasheeda Dawson, who is an advisor on the project. The story is about the impact that will be made on the site of the long shuttered Hanna Furnace Company, which was once one of the country’s largest manufacturers of merchant pig iron. It’s also about the significant economic impact that will resonate outward from the site, once it is operational.
Flora’s seasoned leadership team includes Buffalo native Brad Termini, who brings decades of experience as a successful real estate developer to the project.
Moving forward, the former heavy industrial landscape will be home to a 1.25 million square foot complex that will utilized for a higher purpose – “Medical and scientific research, cannabis cultivation and processing – a robust business incubator supporting industry employees and entrepreneurs, and powerful social equity initiatives to strengthen local communities ravaged by the war on drugs.”