The former Stewart Hawke School in Hudson Bay will soon be vacant no more.

The building has been empty since Hudson Bay Community School was built in 2015, and the town had submitted a request for proposals for the property last fall.

They have now signed a letter of understanding with Let-Us-Grow Hydroponics.

Owners Jan and June Nel plan on establishing pesticide-free greens, herbs, and microgreens production, and they have been granted full access to the buildings.

Town administrator Rick Doleszar told northeastNOW they transferred the buildings and a portion of the property to the Nels, subjecting to the conditions of the agreement.

The town news release said the conditions include “the establishment of an artificial growing and processing environment for edible herbs and greens, along with future value added processing.”

Doleszar said the town believes the proposal made sense for Hudson Bay.

“It was a good fit in the community in terms of community support, and with all of the operations taking place inside the building, land-use wise as far as our official community plan and zoning and so on, it fit the area,” Doleszar said.

He added the town looks forward to the development.

“We’re, as a community, extremely pleased to be able to assist such an exciting project,” Doleszar said. “We believe it has tremendous potential for the community and it’s great that it’s being positively supported throughout the community here, and hopefully throughout the northeast once production is underway.”

Doleszar said the owners hope to have some of the first produce available this year.

Photo: (submitted photo/Town of Hudson Bay)

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974