Raising the Standard: Key Lessons in Cannabis Facility Design and Delivery
Jim Megerson, Founder and President of Anvil Agrinomics, joined panelists Cary Richardson of Miles Construction and Jeremy Schlicher of Urban Green Design on October 1, 2026, to discuss the current state of constructing cannabis cultivation and processing facilities.
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) hosted the webinar, titled “Committee Insights: Raising the Standard - How Team Experience, Collaboration, and Project Delivery Define Cannabis Facility Success”, to update its audience on how to approach building new cultivation facilities in emerging markets, such as Virginia or Nebraska. The panel highlighted how early team integration, specialized mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design, and collaborative delivery models prevent multi-million-dollar construction mistakes.
Building an Integrated Team
The most critical early mistake operators make is acquiring or leasing a property before technical professionals evaluate it. Megerson suggested that projects which involve the general contractor at the beginning gain several benefits. Early inclusion of the general contractor (GC), for example, promotes cost control throughout the entire project and minimizes change orders.
Additionally, Megerson suggested that an owner can still issue a “Request for Qualifications” (RFQ) to ensure that teams that have worked together before are still qualified. Richardson and Schlicher agreed, emphasizing that each entity on the team should bring cannabis experience, whether it’s in MEP (i.e., mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) or site selection. Bringing in a GC halfway through the design effort may create problems.
Cannabis experience is invaluable at this stage of the industry’s growth. Megerson cited examples of experience that are rarely gained from typical residential and commercial projects, such as knowing where to place airlocks, how to ensure shipping and receiving operations do not hamper workflows, or identifying engineers that can comply with CO2regulations for extraction. Richardson noted that while most regulations for safety are national, the cannabis industry often has local and state regulations as well. Local architects and engineers may have required licenses and local expertise, such as dealing with the entitlement process or severe weather conditions that are typical to a certain area.
Managing the Cannabis Facility Design Process
Construction for horticulture places a large emphasis on MEP. Given that cannabis is a relatively new industry, most retrofit projects require significant redesign and remodeling. Without specialized cannabis expertise, teams unintentionally commit severe and costly errors. “Make sure that the experience level is there,” forewarns Megerson, “because there are just so many things with this space that are so specific to cannabis, that aren’t specific to schools, churches, and office buildings.”
Due to the temperature and humidity sensitivity of cannabis plants, MEP often bears a larger share of the budget than it does in typical projects. This sensitivity means that design documents need to be accurate and well planned. Inexperienced teams may make crucial mistakes, such as insufficient cooling (even in the winter) or placing CO2 sensors in incorrect locations. Investing upfront in complete, detailed engineering designs ensures trade contractors have exact details, preventing costly tear-downs and rebuilds in the field.
Modern Project Delivery Methods
Choosing the right project delivery method dictates team dynamics and financial risk:
Design-Bid-Build: While Design-Bid-Build is most common, this delivery method commonly leads to combative relationships, scope disagreements, shortcuts, and expensive change orders.
Design-Build: Design-Build can still render competitive pricing if the client and vendors agree to a cost-plus model or if they share savings.
Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR): CMAR enables teams to hire the GC earlier and foster a team approach. Costs are managed through open-book accounting, with any savings below the GMP returned to the owner or shared across the team.
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD): IPD accelerates problem-solving and is ideal for complex, owner-operated, mission-critical facilities. IPD rewards team decision-making instead of isolating liability, risks, and rewards to a single entity.
“Having the contractor involved very early allows you to achieve solutions quicker,” Megerson advises. “There’s a lot of things that you can really streamline up-front when you’re working in a collaborative manner that way.”
Avoiding Mistakes in Cannabis Facility Construction
While the “Green Rush” is over in most states, there are still ample opportunities for cannabis cultivation and processing facilities to prosper when designed and built correctly. Processes such as upfront programming and value engineering should be an ongoing collaborative effort during design, preventing domino effects like structural changes that force ductwork redesigns.
Megerson emphasized the importance of guiding owners through decisions that could affect their projects: “It’s not my money that’s being spent, it’s the owner’s money,” he says, “but part of my job is to guide them and say, ‘Hey, we can do that, but here are the things you need to be aware of so that you understand the problems you might have from this.’”
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, a successful cannabis facility build-out depends on collaboration among all project partners, from architects (Urban Green Design) to general contractors (Miles Construction) to engineers (Anvil Agrinomics). “The whole team has to be helped by each other so that we don’t miss these types of things,” Megerson explains. He also emphasises the value of learning from past projects: “When there’s success, you want to replicate that success as much as possible.”
As highlighted throughout the webinar, early collaboration, thorough planning, and experienced project partners help operators reduce costly errors, create more efficient timelines, and ultimately protect their capital and potential yields.
Why Partner With Anvil Agrinomics?
Anvil Agrinomics, LLC (AnvilAg) is a leading MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) engineering design firm centrally located in the United States. While we serve a diverse range of industries, our specialty lies in designing controlled environments for indoor agriculture and facilities dedicated to the manufacturing of infused products. Our expertise helps businesses optimize their operations and achieve regulatory compliance while creating efficient and sustainable environments.
