Firm eyes Eugene building for cannabis-edibles manufacturing
EUGENE, Ore. — A food manufacturing operation proposed for west Eugene would cook up some seriously potent snacks.
The common ingredient? Marijuana.
SightGlass Management, a San Francisco firm, wants to lease a 2,970-square-foot warehouse building on Highway 99 in west Eugene to manufacture pot-infused chocolates and “other artisan confections,” according to a document the company filed with the city’s Planning and Development Department.
The firm is negotiating a lease for 90502 Highway 99N, Building D, part of a complex of four warehouse buildings just east of the Eugene Airport.
A company official declined to comment on the plans.
SightGlass says its “infusion process will include cannabis, creating what is commonly referred to as cannabis-infused edibles,” the two-page document shows.
The document asks Eugene planners to confirm that their plan is allowed under the property’s light-medium industrial zoning. It also says SightGlass has not yet secured a lease. La Pine residents Gary and Denise Tingey own the building, Lane County property records show.
No marijuana would be grown at the site. The edibles would sell to retail pot stores across the state.
SightGlass appears to keep a low profile. Its website describes the firm as “an outsource management services company focused on small businesses and non-profit organizations.” It says it offers cash management, accounting, tax advisory and legal services from its downtown San Francisco office.
The company’s phone number dials straight to a voicemail.
Michael Zellner is listed in the planning document as SightGlass Management’s vice president.
Oregon medical marijuana cardholders can purchase pot-laced edibles from dispensaries operating across the state. Legal retail recreational-marijuana edible sales are expected to start later this year. Adults 21 and older have been able to buy limited amounts of dried marijuana since Oct. 1 for recreational purposes.
Oregon voters’ legalization of recreational pot use in the 2014 election sparked new pot-focused business activity in cities that have opted not to prohibit retail sales.
New York City marijuana-business real estate firm Kalyx Development last year paid $3 million for a 107,000-square-foot building on West Third Avenue in Eugene.
A Michigan laboratory testing marijuana strains for potency and pollutants opened a small Eugene office on Centennial Loop in October.
Local commercial real estate agents have said they’re fielding dozens of calls from businesses looking to open marijuana-related businesses, such as dispensaries or growing operations.
SightGlass’s planning document says the company would convert 2,000 square feet of warehouse space for processing cannabis-infused products, and use 970 square feet as an office.