Chinook Greenhouse growing into trees

By COLLIN GALLANT on August 26, 2021.

News Photo Collin Gallant Chinook Greenhouses on Bridge Street in Medicine Hat is set to expand after the project was approved at Wednesday's meeting of the municipal planning commission.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

A Flats-area greenhouse will expand this winter to meet growing market demand from tree-reforestation companies.

The municipal planning commission approved development permit for Chinook Greenhouse’s 60,000-square-foot addition. That will add about 20 per cent of growing space to the operation located on Bridge Street when the expansion is built by next spring.

Owner Carson Pancoast told the News that total annual production will increase to 16 million seedlings which are bought and planted by forestry companies after they log areas in Alberta and British Columbia.

“Business has been very strong and there is a shortage of greenhouse space for seedlings (across the industry),” said Pancoast. “Right now our construction costs are a little higher, but market is really good, so we’re moving ahead.”

The project will see the east side of the existing 300,000 square-foot greenhouse expanded outward onto land owned by the company.

That will bring a portion of the building to within three feet of a right-of-way for the Lions Park Berm that was built in 2015.

City planning officials said the building project, which only requires piles and footings, not major excavation, raised no concerns about berm stability with the city’s technical engineering review.

The land itself was subdivided earlier this month after city council approved a rezoning to direct control from a previous designation under the Historic Clay District overlay.

At the same time, council approved a related item to allow the permit to be dealt with by the MPC.

Planners told Wednesday’s meeting they consider the expansion in keeping with the existing use, and there is already adequate parking and utility servicing.

As such, offsite levies on the site that would have totalled $213,500 have been deferred on the parcel until such time as it is redeveloped for intensified use, such as housing.

“(Current use) is not off-site intensive,” said planning superintendent Erin Onoferychuk of the fees that recover cost for city roadway expansions, water and sewer projects.