DAG CEO Mark Gemignani and Director of Architecture and Engineering Jeff Lair attended the grand opening and ribbon-cutting event for the facility, which is ready to begin operations.
After verifying the building’s suitability (it was previously a warehouse), DAG gutted and renovated the entire space for optimal configuration to allow the production of high-quality craft Cannabis. DAG led execution of design and construction and integration of all specialty vendors, consultants, and subcontractors.
DAG commenced the project in May 2022 with a preliminary high-level schematic design providing 4,496 square feet of canopy, including a seamless flow between mother, clone, propagation, vegetation, and flower rooms and appropriately sized rooms for harvest activities (dry, trim, cure) and post-harvest activities (packaging and vault). The company also designed and constructed a headhouse (water room), electrical room, IT room, areas for shipping and receiving, storage rooms, and ancillary spaces, including offices, locker rooms, and restrooms.
Hamilton Farms CEO and COO and longtime friends Rahul Patel and Kunal Lodaya submitted their initial application for a New Jersey Cannabis business license in December 2021, after the February passing of adult-use Cannabis reform bills into law. They were among the first applicants to be approved for a conditional license and one of the first operations to be approved for conversion into a full annual license.
“DAG was with us from step one to build out an initial concept. We looked at many sites, and DAG’s insight was invaluable. Once we locked in our lease, DAG was integral in envisioning the design and layout; its team members were always available,” said Patel. “Their breadth of knowledge in CEA and planning, design, and construction of Cannabis facilities is incredible.”
“When we began this journey, we were new to the Cannabis industry and chose DAG because we could trust their guidance in helping us to make decisions. Their team is honest, and we value their opinion. They continue to be a part of many decisions we make day in and day out,” said Lodaya.
“Throughout foundational planning, design, pre-construction and construction, and even now during post-construction, we are pleased to have guided and worked with Hamilton Farms to create an efficient and effective facility that will help them run a profitable Cannabis operation,” said Gemignani. “We helped them to be practical, thoughtful, and economical, so their processes beyond growing can be seamless.”
“We look at each project individually as to the goals of the company, what needs to be grown, and how much yield is required. From there, with our clients, we discuss the facility itself, the needs of the site, the types of equipment, and help our clients make good decisions along the entire path,” says Todd Friedman, Director of Strategic Partnerships for DAG, an American constructor of CEA facilities.
Dominion Builders started building its first agriculture project in 2015 with a Deep Water Culture facility for BrightFarms. Shortly thereafter, the company had two more facilities to build and was hooked. As Todd explains, the company developed a streamlined way of designing and building CEA facilities for its clients and learned a lot from that first project. Shortly after that, Dominion-AG, the agriculture division, was created in 2016. In 2020, that was shortened to DAG.
From lettuce to cannabis DAG is rather equipment agnostic, looking for the best specific solutions for its clients. “We work with them in the vetting process, so everything is transparent and above board. We focus on cost-effective solutions to assure long-term success for growers throughout North America,” Todd adds.
DAG handles the planning, design, and construction of CEA facilities for the food crops and Cannabis industries. DAG, The Grow Facility Company, takes a project from concept to harvest with a full suite of services, including foundational planning, integrated preconstruction services, which include full design of the facility and procurement of all equipment, and finally, construction and commissioning.
Expectations for 2024 As Todd explains, CEA is still an emerging industry, and there is a major desire to find ways to grow successfully indoors and create competitive unit costs. Innovation, energy usage and government subsidies will help support this essential industry continue to develop. “There is a bright future, but it won’t be without some growing pains.”
How is DAG involved in the vertical farming space? Although the bulk of its projects are greenhouse, hybrid, and warehouse projects, DAG has bid on vertical farms and worked with vertical farming companies previously. “We are looking forward to more vertical farm opportunities and believe them to be an important part of our repertoire. We are passionate about the agriculture industry and love being a part of it – so we are all in,” Todd affirms.
Get the Most Out of Your Cultivation Facility with Smart Planning & Design
By Jeff Lair, director of architecture and engineering of DAG
Running a profitable Cannabis cultivation operation is about a lot more than growing plants. Achieving success starts with creating a smart design for your Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) facility that fully aligns with your operational plan for business. So many things have to come together for a cultivation facility to function efficiently and produce a high-quality product.
Here are a few critical items to consider when planning and designing a CEA facility:
Take a Holistic View
The first step to maximize the efficiency of your cultivation facility through design is to create a well-articulated plan and program for your entire operation. As simple as this seems, this is where I have seen many companies fall short. They jump into design and equipment without taking a holistic view of what their facility will look like, how it will operate, what their operating expenses will be and how it can be expanded.
Develop a high-level schematic design with a layout that emphasizes operational efficiency. Consider ease of maintenance, minimizing contamination, and expandability – you don’t want to “paint yourself in a corner” with a move like making your headhouse too small to support additional grow rooms.
Thoroughly Assess the Feasibility of your Property
In addition to finding a great location where cultivation uses are allowed per local zoning regulations, you also need to determine whether the utility infrastructure is adequate, and if it’s not, what it will take to meet your needs. What is the amount and quality of water you can bring in, and what will the local authorities require for wastewater disposal? Is there space to locate the substantial amount of mechanical equipment that cultivation requires, either within the property setbacks or on the roof? If it’s going to be on the roof, can the existing structure support the load or will it require reinforcement? How much electrical power service does the property have? A good rule of thumb is that every 10,000 sq. ft. requires 1,000 amps. If you are unsure about something, don’t hesitate to engage an engineer for a consultation. It will be money well spent, especially if it prevents you from leasing or purchasing a property that is cost-prohibitive to make suitable for Cannabis cultivation.
Let How You Grow Drive Your Flow
The layout of your facility should logically follow your plants’ growth cycle all the way through final production. Try to visualize how each plant will move through your facility and create a seamless flow from mom, propagation, early vegetation, vegetation, flower, harvest, dry, cure, trim, manufacturing, vault, packaging, and shipping/receiving rooms. Creating the right work flow will allow cultivation employees to move throughout the facility efficiently by minimizing the distances they have to walk and removing obstacles they need to get around. This increases productivity, decreases labor costs and improves your bottom line.
Divide to Conquer… (and Avoid Contamination)
Creating physical barriers between certain areas like cultivation, manufacturing, shipping/receiving, locker rooms, and offices is a must in order to avoid contamination of your product. These barriers should be firm and reinforced with clear standard operating procedures to ensure the consistency of your product. Certain passageways should have air showers that cannot be circumvented. Create multiple access points to areas like the electrical room or headhouse so anyone servicing equipment can gain access without having to traipse through the cultivation areas.
Beware of the Max Canopy Trap
One trap that’s easy to fall into is trying to maximize your canopy but failing to fully incorporate the uses required to support all that canopy. These include maintenance, storage, the head house and post-harvest areas. Many facilities miss the mark when it comes to designing for easy maintenance with mistakes like providing easy access to shut-off valves and allowing enough space to circulate around equipment. You also need adequate space to store all of the growing supplies and equipment needed to service your canopy. Also, be wary of using multi-tier benching to increase canopy. While it can work well with the proper approach and protocols, plants on upper tiers tend to receive less monitoring which increases the chances of mold or insect infestations devastating an entire harvest.
Prioritize the Right Technologies
A facility’s technology starts and ends with its control system, so do your due diligence to make sure the one you chose fits with your growing objectives and business plan. It has to work seamlessly with your fertigation and mixing equipment to drive the distribution of water and nutrients throughout your facility. A large operation should avoid hand watering and mixing, ensuring your recipes remain consistent. Getting these simple, proven automations right will help you maintain control and consistency in your product across harvests. Your control system can also connect to flow meters and pressure transducers to monitor flow rates and check for pipe leaks. Control of temperature, humidity and Co2 through a single access point is another major advantage of an automated control system. Monitoring is important so it’s useful to have sensors for tracking environmental conditions in your grow rooms but try not to go overboard with alarms. If your grower is constantly bombarded with notifications for things that are minor, they can become inclined to pay less attention and miss something crucial. Better to dial in on the essentials.
Stay on Top of New Innovations
Like most industries, Cannabis has seen a bevy of new innovations come to market in recent years and many have proven to be quite effective. For example, some LED lighting manufacturers have detached ballasts from grow lights and relocated them to a separate dedicated room. This helps lower heat loads in the grow rooms, which improves environmental control and electrical efficiency. There are also promising new air disbursement products that enhance airflow; seed-to-sale tracking systems that utilize RFID technology; new automated curing systems for precision venting gases to maximize the benefits of curing; and tank level logic systems so you don’t have to worry about disrupting nutrient delivery because of empty batch tanks. Anyone planning a new cultivation facility should explore the latest innovations and see what could work for their business.
In Summary
These guidelines provide a framework for how to plan and design a facility that performs the way it was intended and an efficient and successful Cannabis operation. It’s not enough to know how to grow good cannabis. You have to be practical, thoughtful, and economical in your entire process. If you plan your CEA facility properly, the processes beyond growing can be seamless.
About:
Jeff Lair is the Director of Architecture and Engineering for DAG, an industry leader in the planning, design and construction of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) facilities for the Cannabis and produce industries. Lair leads DAG’s design department and works closely with the firm’s construction team throughout the project cycle to ensure quality and value in every facility. For more information, visit www.dagfacilities.com.
Mark Gemignani, CEO of Dominion Builders and DAG, was recognized as an honoree in the 2023 South Florida Business & Wealth Apogee Awards for Excellence in Leadership. Gemignani accepted the recognition in person at the awards dinner on the field of the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park on Nov. 16.
The Apogee Awards is a unique awards program that recognizes distinguished C-Suite leaders from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties for their dedication and leadership to their industries and the communities that they serve.
Gemignani was recognized for his excellence in leadership to the construction industry as the visionary CEO and founder of Dominion Builders and DAG, headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. With over 40 years of experience in construction and development, operating out of Miami, Washington D.C. and New York, Gemignani has led diverse projects such as high-rise, retail, restaurant, corporate office, government, advanced agriculture, industrial and pharmaceutical-grade construction.
A former state champion wrestler and collegiate athlete, his determination extends beyond business. Currently, he chairs the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Development and Construction Council, showcasing his commitment to excellence.
“It is a great honor to be recognized and selected by South Florida Business & Wealth for its 2023 Apogee Awards,” said Gemignani. “This award is a testament to our whole team’s dedication to the industry, and I am proud to work with such hard-working and supportive individuals at Dominion Builders and DAG.”
About Dominion Builders:
Dominion Builders is a privately owned, commercial general contractor licensed in multiple states in the U.S., and in Canada. The Coral Gables, Florida-based corporate headquarters draws on more than 40 years of extensive experience in the construction arena. Dominion’s experience is exemplified through an eminent award-winning portfolio, which highlights its craftsmanship, teamwork and passion to impact real estate communities. For more information, visit www.dominionbuild.com.
About DAG – The Grow Facility Company:
DAG is an industry leader in the planning, design, and construction of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) facilities for the food crops and Cannabis industries. DAG – The Grow Facility Company – takes a project from concept to harvest, with a full suite of services including foundational planning, integrated preconstruction services, construction, and commissioning. DAG’s approach focuses on cost-effective solutions to assure long-term success for growers throughout North America. DAG is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. For more information, visit www.dagfacilities.com.
Hamilton Farms opens new cannabis cultivation facility completed by DAG.
In a recent press release covered by the Patch , DAG, an organization that constructs and designs Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) facilities for cannabis and produce industries, revealed that they recently completed a new cannabis cultivation facility for Hamilton Farms, a cannabis cultivator for the New Jersey adult-use market. The building is located in Millville, New Jersey and is 13,000-square-feet.
The CEO, Mark Gemignani, and Director of Architecture and Engineering, Jeff Lair, of DAG, both represented the company and attended Hamilton Farms ribbon-cutting and grand opening event for the new building.
Prior to becoming a cannabis cultivation facility, the venue once was a warehouse. DAG began construction and renovated the location for it to be utilized as a cultivation enterprise. The project began in May 2022. According to the press release, “DAG commenced the project in May 2022 with a preliminary high-level schematic design providing 4,496 square feet of canopy, including a seamless flow between mother, clone, propagation, vegetation, and flower rooms; and appropriately sized rooms for harvest activities (dry, trim, cure) and post-harvest activities (packaging and vault). The company also designed and constructed a headhouse (water room), electrical room, IT room, areas for shipping and receiving, storage rooms, and ancillary spaces including offices, locker rooms and restrooms.”
When cannabis became legalized in 2021, Rahul Patel, CEO of Hamilton Farms, and Kunal Lodaya, COO of Hamilton Farms, submitted an initial application for a New Jersey Cannabis business license in December 2021. The company was one of the first approved applicants to receive a conditional license, as well as, one of the first to be approved to convert into a full annual license.
“DAG was with us from step one to build out an initial concept. We looked at many sites, and DAG’s insight was invaluable. Once we locked in our lease, DAG was integral in envisioning the design and layout; its team members were always available,” Patel mentioned. “Their breadth of knowledge in CEA and planning, design and construction of Cannabis facilities is incredible.”
“When we began this journey, we were new to the Cannabis industry and chose DAG because we could trust their guidance in helping us to make decisions. Their team is honest, and we value their opinion. They continue to be a part of many decisions we make day in and day out,” Lodaya said.
“Throughout foundational planning, design, pre-construction and construction, and even now during post-construction, we are pleased to have guided and worked with Hamilton Farms to create an efficient and effective facility that will help them run a profitable Cannabis operation,” Gemignani explained. “We helped them to be practical, thoughtful and economical, so their processes beyond growing can be seamless.”
