Cannabis Cultivation Facility Gets Green Light Near Apollo High School

(KNSI) – A proposed cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility in St. Cloud has cleared its final city hurdle and can now set up shop roughly 630 feet from Apollo High School property.

The St. Cloud Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3 to 1 Tuesday night to grant GRS Northtown, LLC and Cocina Mexicana, LLC a 370-foot variance from the city’s rule requiring cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and related businesses to stay at least 1,000 feet from any K-12 school.

Board member Fatima Mohamed cast the lone opposing vote, citing concerns about a facility of this type being located so close to a high school. No one spoke in opposition to the project during a public hearing.

Remaining approvals will come from the state, including the Office of Cannabis Management. Steven Letnes of Cold Spring is the CEO and an investor, owner, and partner in the project, which is operating as Grow One.

He spoke with KNSI News moments after getting approval and was pleased with the board’s decision. “Feeling very good. It’s going to be a good project for the city. We have lots of jobs, probably 100 good-paying jobs, and we’re just going to go to work.”

No retail sales will take place on site, at 14 and 16 McLeland Road, and the facility will not be open to the public. There will be no exterior signage identifying it as a cannabis business.

Letnes describes the project as a win-win for both the city and his company. “It’s a win for the city, because we’re filling a vacant 115,000-square-foot warehouse and lots of good-paying union jobs. It’s not a dispensary, it’s no retail. Nobody will even know we’re there.”

City Senior Planner Dave Broxmeyer recommended approval. In a memo to the board, Broxmeyer noted the portion of the 1,000-foot buffer that touches Apollo High School property is occupied by a stormwater holding pond, not school activities. The closest school entrance is nearly a quarter mile from the site, and the two properties are separated by Veterans Drive and 44th Avenue North.

An economic impact analysis prepared by St. Cloud State University’s Center for Policy Research and Community Engagement estimates the operation would generate $19.6 million in total annual economic output across Stearns and Benton counties, with average wages of $63,036. The analysis projects $631,000 in annual direct tax revenue, including $136,605 for School District 742 and other special taxing districts. The study was authored by Dr. King Banaian and prepared on behalf of Greater St. Cloud.

Letnes says construction is expected to take about six months, after which the project must receive approval from the Office of Cannabis Management before the grow operation can begin. Product must then be grown, dried, and tested before it can be sold to a wholesaler for distribution to dispensaries.

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