The four greenhouse construction projects that were realised in 2019 in Kingsville total over 50 acre (20 hectare) in size and according to Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos that's a decent size for the town. The value of the projects however is remarkable: the estimated value is over $73 million, he disclosed last Friday at the Leamington Chamber of Commerce annual Mayor's breakfast.
According to Santos this has to do with the two medical marijuana greenhouses being realised. "The cost to build a medicinal marijuana greenhouse is like ten times that of a traditional greenhouse."
The total value of Kingsville construction projects was just over $165-million, which is a record and doubles the amount of the 2018 construction value.
Earlier last week, Joe Sbrocchi, general manager of the Ontario Vegetable Greenhouse Growers, said that permits issued doesn’t mean all the greenhouses got built, and the growth in the cannabis sector “threw everything off".
He added that Kingsville has about 1,400 acres of greenhouses that are mostly in the Ruthven area. The 50 acres from the four permits issued in 2019 was the highest greenhouse acreage added since 2014 in Kingsville.