A building constructed for cannabis cultivation on the eastern side of the Patricia Bay Highway in Central Saanich is on the market for $2.5 million.
Built in 2014, the austere, grey-coloured structure stands out on its 2.71-acre site of A-1 agriculture land between the highway and 6922 Lochside Drive.
The property was at the centre of a court battle between its former tenant and its owner. In December 2019, the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered cannabis grower Evergreen Medicinal Supply to vacate the building it leased by Jan. 31, 2020 and return it to owner Phillip Illingworth.
The case focused on about $450,000 in unpaid rent and interest that Appeal Court Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten said was owed by Evergreen to Illingworth. The parties disagreed on the starting date for rent to be owed.
Evergreen, a licensed medical cannabis company, had appealed an order from the B.C. Supreme Court to vacate the property.
The 5,435 square foot building, which is currently vacant, was built to meet standards required for a cannabis licence. Features include power, vault, steel and concrete block construction, security fences, controlled access doors and a back-up generator.
About $100,000 worth of cannabis cultivation equipment remains on the site, some indoors and some outdoors.
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada agent Peter Crichton, who has the listing, said the property has been remediated.
The building could be used for cannabis or some other type of indoor growing operation and the unused land is suitable for agriculture, Crichton said.
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
