Cannabis company acquires 100,000 square feet facility from HADCO | News
LESAGE — The Huntington Area Development Council has closed the sale of its 100,000-square-foot shell building in the HADCO Business Park at Lesage to medical cannabis company Trulieve.
Trulieve is entering its second year of operations in Lesage. Initially the company invested more than $4.6 million and hired 34 full-time employees. It had committed to a one-year lease agreement with HADCO and decided to exercise the option to purchase the property, officials said.
The transaction completes a more than $20 million investment at Lesage by Trulieve, which also included the acquisition of more than 70 acres of industrial property adjacent to the facility and the construction of four 24,000-square-foot buildings, totaling 96,000 additional square feet of production and office space, officials added.
“Trulieve has stepped up in a big way,” says David Lieving, HADCO president and CEO. “It’s wonderful to see this level of commitment and investment in West Virginia and in Cabell County. Congratulations to everyone that played a role in bringing this project to the Huntington area.”
The announcement comes with the company now employing 108 full-time workers at the Lesage campus and intending to grow its workforce to a total of 150 as the market continues to mature and support further demand, Lieving added.
Lieving said since beginning its operations in August 2021, HADCO has worked to provide support for the company, including connecting the company with local suppliers and business service providers and helping establish unique partnership opportunities with the Marshall University Research Corporation, the Marshall University School of Pharmacy and Marshall University College of Engineering.
In 2022, Trulieve presented alongside Marshall University at the 2022 WV Biotechnology Summit in Huntington, highlighting the medical applications of the cannabis products it produces and the potential for public-private sector partnerships with the university and for research opportunities through the university’s Institute of Medical Cannabis & Therapeutics.
“We are starting to see Trulieve’s economic and community impact be felt in the community,” said Adam Phillips, business development specialist for HADCO. “From locating new retail dispensaries in vacant store fronts and becoming an active member of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce and partnering with Marshall University, this is a company that is taking its investment in our community seriously.”
“The impact of Trulieve’s investment in Lesage is ongoing, strategic and powerful,” Lieving said. “It is an investment in an area of Cabell County with unique development potential, that has seen incremental development through the years, but which has always had the potential for more private-sector investment.”
“Companies like Alcon, Rust-Oleum and Lesage Natural Spring Water have operated successfully in the area for many years,” Phillips added. “We understand the importance of having these companies be a part of our community and we love to see companies, like Trulieve, investing here and expanding their footprint in our community.”
Lesage is near the northern end of Cabell County’s W.Va. 2 corridor.
“Cabell County’s Rt. 2 Corridor offers some of our largest sites with proximity to both river and rail access,” Lieving said. “Businesses wanting to locate close to the City of Huntington and Apple Grove, where Nucor Steel West Virginia is making a $2.7 billion investment in Mason County, are going to seek out development opportunities in this area. We look forward to helping bring those investments to our area.”
Lieving said additional infrastructure such as broadband connectivity, expanded public wastewater to industrial areas and the development of four-lane highway access along W.Va. 2 will be critical for the long-term development of the corridor.
“For now, Trulieve WV, Inc. is one company helping to lead the charge in what is shaping up to be a true economic resurgence for the area,” he said. “The Trulieve investment shows that there are real and positive economic outcomes from passage of West Virginia’s medical cannabis bill in 2017.”
Trulieve officials did not respond to questions for comments regarding this story.
Fred Pace is the business reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Follow him at Facebook.com/FredPaceHD and via Twitter @FredPaceHD.
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