ALR going to pot?

Photo: Contributed

A Kelowna real estate firm is suggesting the ALR could be used for industrial pot production.

In a new white paper, Colliers International argues that B.C. cities faced with highly constrained industrial land supplies could benefit from an expanded role for the ALR – in pot production.

Cannabis is set to be legalized in Canada this year, and Colliers points out its impact on commercial real estate in B.C. will likely be “profound,” as new cannabis producers scramble to secure land and warehouse facilities to grow their product.

In cities where land is at a premium, thanks to the protected farmland within the ALR, “the question of where (production) facilities can go is paramount.”

“Utilizing greenhouses on portions of the least arable Agricultural Land Reserve land provides a viable alternative to industrial land for cannabis production operations,” the paper reads.

For more from Colliers on expanding pot production on the ALR, as well as insight into why the city is "concerned" about it, check out the full story on Castanet's sister business news website, Okanagan Edge.