High-tech housing project to share site with controversial First Nation grow op
CBC
A federal government agency is funding an experimental housing project on the site of a controversial, large-scale marijuana grow op in the Haudenosaunee community of Six Nations in southwest Ontario.
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada, a federal agency under Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada, provided a $3.7 million grant to the Toronto-based construction firm Horizon Legacy for the project.
Horizon Legacy has partnered with Six Nations architect Brian Porter and his firm Two Row Architect.
But the project is set for a plot of land shared with a new marijuana plantation that's facing community pressure to shut down. Legacy Farms has become a lightning rod for controversy in Six Nations since greenhouses began to go up this year. Residents object to its over 70 sprawling greenhouses and the constant traffic of trucks, and are unhappy at the prospect of further large-scale construction in the community, which is about 100 kilometres southwest of Toronto.
Horizon Legacy says the $10 million, 30-unit project will be "the largest multi-storey Indigenous housing development" in the country, and be constructed with robotics.
Horizon Legacy CEO Nhung Nguyen told CBC News she's aware of "issues" with the location, but hopes any controversy won't overshadow the potentially cutting-edge project which, she says, could revolutionize construction in First Nations.
"This technology will be, we believe, transformational for Canada," said Nguyen.
Horizon Legacy is developing the use of a robotic arm, called Val 2.0, that acts like a portable 3D printer, pouring out a special concrete mix to build walls and structures. The company recently used it for a row-house project in Gananoque, Ont.
The project in Six Nations will be the first time the technology will be used to raise load-bearing walls. If successful, the project could be replicated in other First Nations, allowing rapid housing construction in a sector facing a labour shortage, she said.
The construction firm has no connection to Legacy Farms, says Nguyen.
The building will be called Eh ni da se, which means "new moon" in the language of the Cayuga, according to Horizon Legacy's website.
The Cayuga are one of the six nations that make up the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which maintains a traditional governance structure separate from elected band councils.
Legacy Farms is owned by Porter's son Aaron Porter, and is licensed by the Six Nations Cannabis Commission.
The commission was created by the elected band council to regulate cannabis production and retail on the reserve. The band, in an exercise of sovereignty, created its own cannabis rules outside of federal and provincial laws.
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