Waltham, MA – Vantage Builders, Inc., a general contracting, construction management and design-build firm based in Waltham, has announced that its Cannabis Construction Practice has completed a 4,500sf expansion to Prime Alternative Treatment Centers’ therapeutic cannabis cultivation facility located in Peterborough, N.H.
The project included the construction of a mother, propagation and vegetation room, two flowering rooms, a drying room, trimming and bulk material storage room, and a decontamination room, where workers gown up prior to entering the grow areas. The new expanded facility more than doubles Prime ATC’s therapeutic cannabis cultivation capacity and increased the company’s footprint in the building from approximately 6,000sf to over 10,000sf. The project team also included GJO Associates architects and BLW Engineers.
Vantage worked closely with the Prime ATC grow team to create the new cultivation area. Vantage installed grow tables in the two flowering rooms, which are each approximately 1,300sf, and a three-tier grow system in the mother vegetation room. Each room is constructed with interlocking, insulated metal PermaTherm wall and ceiling panels. Unistrut systems support the myriad grow lights and horizontal fans that create the environmental conditions necessary for therapeutic cannabis cultivation. Epoxy flooring coating, with an integral cove wall base going four inches up the wall, helps ensure a clean environment in the growing rooms.
The project included significant systems work. Vantage extended power from the building’s existing system to support the high power load demanded by cannabis cultivation. New HVAC systems deliver the precise temperature and humidity levels. Vantage installed three new Energy Recovery Units on the building’s roof, supported by steel dunnage platforms, as well as the necessary ductwork.
A building management system (BMS) integrates the control of electricity and HVAC systems, allowing the Prime ATC team to create the perfect environmental conditions for each individual room, including temperature ranges, light schedules, RH percentages, CO2 levels, and irrigation events. The BMS includes an app that enables to team to monitor the rooms remotely. Additionally, Vantage installed a new Dosatron fertigation system that allows Prime ATC to carefully and efficiently deliver nutrients to the growing plants.
