Abandoned office buildings at Grumman Aerospace’s former Calverton plant could be redeveloped into an indoor cannabis cultivation facility, but the Central Pine Barrens Commission must first give approvals.

The 20-acre property on the south side of Grumman Boulevard includes three buildings that were built between 1960 and 1988. They have been vacant since Grumman closed the facility, where the U.S. Navy once assembled and tested fighter jets, in 1996.

Signature Partners, a Manhattan commercial real estate firm, is the site’s new owner. Fenced in by barbed wire, the campus of former office buildings recently sold for $750,000, according to a deed filed with the Suffolk County Clerk’s office in early January. The property was previously owned by TJ Enterprises LLC.

Signature officials outlined preliminary plans to redevelop the property as an indoor cannabis grow facility during a meeting of the Central Pine Barrens Commission Jan. 21 meeting. The company needs a hardship waiver because the property is in the Central Pine Barrens Core Preservation Area and is considered new development, officials said.

Development is not typically allowed in the environmentally sensitive area so as to protect the environment and groundwater, according to the commission’s land use plan.

A ‘restoration’ pitch

In a Jan. 7 letter to the Pine Barrens Commission, the developers said a hardship waiver was unnecessary. The applicant seeks an “adaptive reuse” of existing buildings, rather than an entirely new development, the letter said.

“We are not going to change the envelope of any of the buildings,” Signature Partners’ CEO, Andrew M. Weiss Jr., said at the meeting. “It’s a restoration type of project.”

Under the proposal, the existing buildings would be reused for cannabis cultivation following interior renovations, parking lot resurfacing, landscaping upgrades and improvements to septic systems, fire sprinklers and other utility connections, according to documents filed with the commission. The three buildings collectively total 126,500 square feet and include 337 parking spaces.

The largest, westernmost building needs “mostly cosmetic” repairs, the developers said. But the other two are in greater states of disrepair and could require total demolition due to mold, lead paint and asbestos.

Ten wooded acres would remain untouched, according to a concept presented to the commission. “We will do nothing to injure or impair the existing majestic pine trees,” the letter states.

Company officials said Signature Partners is not directly involved in cannabis production, distribution or sales. The company seeks to build a facility for use by licensed cannabis growers.

The developers wrote that they are seeking cannabis growers licensed by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management. “We want to be clear that we are not in the cannabis business and are just providing a suitable facility to grow plants indoors under controlled and secure conditions.”

Waiver debate

Signature Partners is seeking cultivators certified for growing in Tiers 2 and 3, which refers to the square footage of growing operations, which ranges from 5,000 to 25,000 square feet under the state’s cannabis law.

Commission members raised questions during the meeting about whether the project meets the criteria for a hardship waiver.

“It sounds like these buildings … they’re so old and the use is so far gone that this is a case of hardship because of the fact that this use is an intensified use from what was there before,” Janice Scherer, a planning representative for Southampton Town on the committee, said at the meeting.

The property is in Riverhead Town’s “Natural Resources Protection” zoning district, which allows agricultural production. Cannabis is considered an agricultural crop under state law.

Town site plan approval would also be required, though no official plans have been filed yet.

“At this early stage, we are focused on making our application to the Central Pine Barrens Board. Once that is complete, we look forward to working with the Town of Riverhead to ensure that this long abandoned property is restored and can once again become a significant employer and taxpayer,” Weiss said in a statement.

Weiss added that they plan to make a formal application to the Central Pine Barrens Commission for a hardship waiver. A public hearing would be held before the commission decides.