A major cannabis producer plans to establish a new facility at a former knife factory in upstate New York.
Local officials said Cresco Labs would occupy the long-vacant site near Ellenville, New York, to house cultivation, processing, packaging and distribution operations, the Kingston Daily Freeman reports.
The complex could employ between 300 and 400 workers, officials added. The building formerly housed antenna manufacturer Channel Master and knife and tool maker Schrade, which shuttered its operations at the site 17 years ago.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan told reporters that the development would put “more fuel on the fire of the economic engine we’re building now in Ellenville and, really, in Ulster County” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cresco has not yet submitted its plans to local officials and did not attend Wednesday’s press conference. The company told the Freeman in a statement that it is “excited about adult-use and expanding our footprint in the state of New York.”
