ROCHESTER — Jordan Kilian is transforming a northwest Rochester warehouse into one of Minnesota’s largest state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation and processing facilities to be on the forefront of the state’s coming “Green Rush” of its new marijuana industry.

Kilian leads Float Cannabis, which is one of
two cannabis companies licensed as “mezzobusinesses” in Olmsted County.
Mezzobusinesses are licensed by the state with the ability to grow, process and buy cannabis for recreational use. In addition to growing and processing, they are also allowed to open up to three retail locations in the state.

“We’ll be doing everything from seed to sale,” he said. “This is the dream. The future is green.”

The original plan was that after obtaining the state license, Float Cannabis would build a facility in nearby Dover, Minnesota. As many Minnesota companies gear up for the new recreational cannabis market, Kilian decided to buy the 50,000-square-foot former Pomp’s Tire warehouse at 6233 Bandel Road NW in Rochester for $4 million to speed up Float Cannabis’ timeline.

The 42-year-old concrete complex was purchased by Float Venture Group. Olmsted County estimated the total market value of the property at $3.5 million for 2025-2026.

Jeff Kiger / Post Bulletin

The building sale closed on Oct. 30 and crews started work inside the facility almost immediately.

“We’re rocking and rolling. This gets us to the market sooner than building in Dover would have,” said Kilian walking through the empty warehouse surrounded by the sound of construction.

The goal is to have the proprietary cultivation systems and related genetics lab operational by the end of April. The Bandel Road site is designed to eventually produce up to 340 pounds of cannabis a week, according to Kilian.

The plan is to staff it by an experienced grow team of 40 people recruited from across the country. Float Cannabis is also working with the University of Minnesota on plants as local orchards and wineries have with apples and grapes.

As the plants mature and the production of products like drinks, edibles and vape pens pick up speed, he hopes to have 125 people working at the Bandel Road site by the end of 2026.

Float Cannabis is already mapping out possible expansions of the 50,000-square-foot building to accommodate the anticipated demand for cannabis and processed products.

Given the number of small retail businesses licensed by the state to start selling recreational cannabis in the near future, Kilian believes that Float Cannabis will be positioned as the lead supplier for area Mom-and-Pop dispensaries.

Green Goods/Vireo Growth,
which was one of the first companies to operate licensed medical dispensaries in the state, is already selling its Minnesota-grown cannabis for recreational use at eight shops, including one in Rochester. The Prairie Island Indian Community also runs its own southeastern Minnesota dispensary, Island Peži, in Welch, just north of Red Wing.

The Bandel Road facility will not have any retail shop, so Float Cannabis is looking for retail outlet sites in Rochester and other Minnesota cities. Kilian envisions the Float Cannabis dispensaries as large shops with a team of budtenders like in Colorado or Las Vegas.

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