The building at 268 Whitten Road, the potential site for a medical marijuana indoor growing facility in Hallowell. Kennebec Journal photo by Sam Shepherd

HALLOWELL — The Hallowell City Council unanimously approved a license Monday night that will allow a 7,000-square-foot indoor marijuana cultivation facility to open on Whitten Road.

Councilors issued the license to David Vickers, who is planning to operate the grow facility at 268 Whitten Road, near the Hallowell-Augusta line.

A public hearing at Monday’s council meeting on Vickers’s license application produced no comments, leading to the council’s approval of Vickers’ request.

In Hallowell, marijuana business licenses, which are good for medical and adult-use marijuana businesses, come with a $250 fee.

Vickers said during the meeting he had conditional approval from the state to operate a Tier 3 cultivation facility, which allows up to 7,000 square feet of canopy space, or the amount of space dedicated to growing plants.

Vickers operates Origins Cannabis Co. and has a medical marijuana retail store at 884 Western Ave. in Manchester.

Hallowell residents and abutting property owners sounded off on the proposal in November 2019 when it was given an initial OK by the Planning Board. During that meeting, some abutting property owners spoke out about the odor that could emanate from the building, which they said could be a nuisance and hurt property values.

Vickers said in November 2019 the “multimillion-dollar” project would be built in a way that no air and, therefore, no odor would be released outside of the building.

Also in November 2019, City Code Enforcement Officer Doug Ide said three odor complaints against Vickers’ project could prompt the city to take corrective measures, which could include a fine or revocation of occupancy.

According to documents filed in October, the building at 268 Whitten Road, just north of Mattson’s Floor & Window Treatments, is owned by Augusta-based J&R Associates LLC.

The local license application included a purchase-and-sale agreement on the property, which stipulates Vickers’ company will buy the building for $1.25 million.

A rental listing for the property describes it as 15,500 square feet and fully built as a “standard office.”