St. Cloud Weighs Industrial Rezoning for Potential Cannabis Cultivation Site

(KNSI) – A cannabis cultivation facility could one day operate on McLeland Road in St. Cloud, but city officials say residents shouldn’t get ahead of themselves.

The city council has set a March 9th public hearing to consider rezoning 14 and 16 McLeland Road from C5 Highway Commercial back to I3 Planned Industrial, which is the first step in that process.

The property, which formerly housed a Fingerhut and CompuCredit call center, was rezoned to C5 Commercial in May 2025 to accommodate a planned indoor go-kart track and entertainment venue that never came to fruition. With those plans now off the table, the current property owner, Trantina Properties, is seeking to restore the industrial designation with the intent of transferring the site to Grow One, LLC, which has expressed interest in operating a cannabis cultivation and manufacturing operation out of the vacant 112,000-square-foot building.

But St. Cloud Community Development Director Matt Glaesman wants the public to understand the scope of what the March 9th vote actually covers. “The March 9th public hearing is about rezoning the property in question to I-3, which is a zoning district that allows many types of industrial uses.”

Any number of by-right industrial uses could move into the site without further public hearing under I3 zoning. Glaesman went on to explain, “There is an intention of the applicant to ultimately open a cannabis cultivation facility, but the action that counts on the 9th will not be specific to that use. It’s only about the uses permitted in that zoning district. So the March 9th hearing is really a much more general action than might be perceived.”

In other words, if the city council approves the rezoning, it would not be greenlighting a cannabis business, it would simply be restoring the industrial zoning designation that was in place before the 2025 change made to accommodate the go-kart venue.

The cannabis cultivation proposal would still require additional permits, approvals, and potentially a variance before it could move forward. A simple majority of four council votes is required to approve the rezoning ordinance.

City staff also noted that those wishing to provide a written comment can submit it to the planning office for inclusion in the council packet.

The St. Cloud Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning 7-0 following its own public hearing on February 10.

Should the rezoning ultimately be approved and the cannabis cultivation plan proceed, Grow One’s proposal envisions 20,000 square feet of indoor cultivation space inside the fully enclosed former call center building, along with processing operations and no public access. Economic analyses submitted with the application project 85 to 93 full-time unionized positions at an average wage of $63,000, an $11.5 million private investment, and approximately $631,000 in annual tax revenue.

St. Cloud State University’s analysis estimated the facility could generate $19.6 million in total annual economic output across the St. Cloud metro area.

The site’s proximity to Apollo High School could also present a hurdle. State law requires cannabis facilities to be located at least 1,000 feet from schools, and Glaesman noted the city council may need to grant a variance if the project moves forward.

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