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Welcome to Pot City: Cathedral City to build gigantic indoor marijuana grow op

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 06:  Marijuana plants are grown at Essence Vegas' 54,000-square-foot marijuana cultivation facility on July 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. On July 1, Nevada joined seven other states allowing recreational marijuana use and became the first of four states that voted to legalize recreational sales in November's election to allow dispensaries to sell cannabis for recreational use to anyone over 21. Since July 1, sales of cannabis products in the state have generated more than USD 1 million in tax revenue.  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Marijuana plants are grown at Essence Vegas' 54,000-square-foot marijuana cultivation facility on July 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
)
Listen 8:35
Welcome to Pot City: Cathedral City to build gigantic indoor marijuana grow op

This year, Canadian cannabis company Sunniva Inc. broke ground on a $54 million development project in Cathedral City – a 489,000 square foot, multi-functioning marijuana facility.

The company is constructing two buildings on Ramon Road, where it will grow, process and sell marijuana. Projected tax revenue from the project is $5 million annually, and Sunniva is set to employ more than 100 people once construction is complete.

But getting to this point was not an easy task. Though weed was made legal in California as of January, strict regulations are currently in place on marijuana companies when it comes to development, including licensing caps – only one license is allowed per 22,000 square feet.

With a campus so large, how has Sunniva managed to come together? We discuss.

Guests:

Greg Pettis, mayor pro-tem of Cathedral City

Amy DiPierro, real estate and business reporter at The Desert Sun; she tweets