SunnyDayz Cannabis making progress in Deerfield, expects to open in August

February 9, 2025

DEERFIELD — SunnyDayz Cannabis is making steady progress on its three-building site at 105 Greenfield Road (Routes 5 and 10) and is aiming to open its doors to the public this summer.

The company appeared before the Planning Board last Monday evening to share an update on construction. It is building a “cannabis campus” featuring a retail dispensary, a cultivation facility and a small manufacturing facility using 5 acres on the total 28 acres that it owns south of the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital (VESH).

Over the last year, SunnyDayz has erected its dispensary and manufacturing buildings and has started interior build-outs. In its 2024 report to the Planning Board, the company said there have been no erosion control issues to address and Conservation Commission inspections have approved of the wetland replication area it has built.

“If all goes well with the rest of the construction, we’re hoping to apply for a [certificate of occupancy] by August,” Ken Bouquillon, chief cultivation officer with SunnyDayz, said to the Planning Board.

While construction has progressed steadily, SunnyDayz reported Monday there is a change in use of one of its buildings. The originally proposed third-party testing lab will instead be converted into a small manufacturing facility due to a rift in negotiations between Deerfield and Confidence Analytics, the third-party company that had been looking to use the space.

The wedge between Deerfield’s town counsel and Confidence Analytics was Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40, Section 57, which is a state statute appearing in the host community agreement with the town — approved by the Selectboard in August 2023 — giving the licensing authority the ability to revoke licenses in the wake of back taxes, including the licenses of those leasing property.

At the time, Confidence Analytics CEO Nick Mosely said, “The way we see it, this statute says the towns may use it as a tool, but not that the town must use it.” Deerfield officials, though, said the language could not be removed because the state put it in place as an option for the town to get landlords to pay their tax obligations.

As a result of the negotiations breaking down, SunnyDayz reported Monday that Confidence Analytics pulled out of its 10-year contract. An update letter from SunnyDayz informing the Planning Board of the change in building use said the building’s footprint will remain the same, but it will house six grow rooms, a drying/curing room, a mechanical room and employee spaces. Three to four employees are expected to work in the building, while the original testing lab is anticipated to have more than 15 employees.

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“They felt the egregious terms presented by the town attorney were not conducive to a long-term relationship with the town of Deerfield,” the letter from SunnyDayz reads, noting that Confidence Analytics representatives felt it was a “high risk to invest millions of dollars in the town of Deerfield.” “We will continue to comply with all town regulations and [Cannabis Control Commission] regulations for this building.”

Bouquillon added Tuesday morning that while losing their testing lab tenant was “hard to swallow,” the town has been a strong partner to SunnyDayz and the final hurdle it needs to clear before finishing construction and applying for a certificate of occupancy is finalizing building code requirements with the South Deerfield Fire District.

In total, the company is constructing a 26,705-square-foot indoor cultivation facility, a 3,539-square-foot retail dispensary and a 5,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, along with parking, lighting and utility upgrades. Once opened, the company will finally complete a process dating back at least to September 2021, when it signed its original host community agreement with the Selectboard.

 

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