MedPharm Iowa: Designing, Constructing, and Operating a Grow Facility in Less Than One Year

Getting a complex renovation project from design to operation in one year is no simple task. But that’s what IMEG Corp.'s design and construction team was asked to accomplish for MedPharm, one of Iowa’s first medical marijuana manufacturing facilities.
IMEG provided mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP); fire protection; and technology/security design for the facility. The firm’s work with the project architects began as soon as MedPharm was granted a license by the state of Iowa in late November 2017, allowing them to manufacture three types of medical marijuana products to be sold at the state’s five licensed dispensaries. The license also required that the company have the products ready to dispense by Dec. 1, 2018 — giving the firm 12 months to complete the project.
Besides IMEG’s technical abilities, its local presence and experience and familiarity with other trades on-site and the owner served as two critical differentiators that helped the team meet the state-mandated deadline. The same IMEG team had recently worked on the design for the new world headquarters of Des Moines-based Kemin Industries, MedPharm’s parent company. Kemin knew IMEG understood the company’s procedures and thought processes and could get up to speed quickly on a new project. The team’s local presence offered experience working with the city of Des Moines’ building department and made it easy for those on-site to meet with department officials prior to the receipt of the license. This ensured the firm understood the permitting and inspection processes as well as the code requirements that would come into play with the existing building — a 1960s-era freight distribution warehouse near the Kemin campus. The firm’s proximity also granted the team the ability to efficiently investigate the existing conditions of the building.
At the time of design, medical marijuana processing was a new type of project for the team, so Kemin arranged for engineers to visit a similar facility, MedPharm Colorado, in Denver. Team members toured that facility and met with its personnel to gain a better understanding of the highly secure, strictly controlled scientific process.

Figure 1

MedPharm Iowa produces three products with ranging levels of cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD, and tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly referred to as THC.

Early Design and Planning

IMEG’s proactive investigations saved the team valuable time and allowed its engineers to hit the ground running once the project was given the green light by the state. Engineers spent the first month meeting with the owner, user groups, and contractors to work through the tight project budget and schedule and conduct master planning-type exercises to determine not only what needed to be operational on day one but also how to provide flexibility for future growth and expansion. IMEG then conducted several rounds of conceptual design, aided by an architectural firm with expertise on the unique process equipment requirements. Using rendering software, engineers turned their Revit model into a 3D virtual walkthrough to help the owner see, understand, and approve the final design.
The project delivery was a highly collaborative effort between the design team, general contractor, fire protection and security systems subcontractors, and mechanical and electrical contractors. The trade contractors also provided prefabricated assemblies, which were critical in meeting the timeline. IMEG peer reviewed each other’s work throughout the project and worked closely with the vendors to determine the utility requirements of all equipment.
To allow MedPharm the time it needed to grow, harvest, process, and package its first batch of product by the state’s deadline, design and construction were phased with the most critical and time-sensitive spaces brought online first.

Figure 2

To allow MedPharm the time it needed to grow, harvest, process, and package its first batch of product by the state’s deadline, design and construction were phased with the most critical and time-sensitive spaces brought online first.

Phase One

Design and construction for phase one consisted of office and support spaces; core mechanical, electrical, and utility spaces; and the “mother grow room” and propagation chamber for the genetic stock of all the plants. These prefabricated rooms were delivered to the site and then connected to all utilities, including reverse osmosis (RO) water. The mother chamber was operational by February, allowing MedPharm to begin growing breeding stock while the next two phases were being designed and built.
All infrastructure that would be needed for phases two and three was also installed during phase one. This included all AHUs, chillers, electrical gear, emergency generator, water service, sanitary sewer, and natural gas. The portion of the fire protection system serving phase one also was operational, allowing the city to issue a certificate of occupancy to MedPharm so that it could begin operations.

Phase Two

The facility’s vegetation and flower rooms and related support spaces were designed and constructed in phase two and came online in June — in time to receive the first crop of plants from the mother grow chamber.
This phase, which connected each room to the building infrastructure installed during phase one, required several design iterations for grow lighting specifications, lighting layout, as well as HVAC systems, primarily the cooling and dehumidification systems. Lighting, temperature, and humidity are critical for these rooms, as any deviation from acceptable levels puts the entire crop at risk for lower yields and/or disease, costing the owner in wasted resources, time, and revenue. Thus, sensors constantly monitor room conditions, and all mechanical and electrical systems have redundancy. A CO2 enrichment system was also designed and utilized for the grow rooms.

Phase Three

The final stage of the project provided design and construction of the extraction, quality control, and packaging spaces. These areas are essentially a lab space in which employees separate the oils from the dry cannabis matter and package the final products, which come in the form of creams, pills, and drops.
This stage required attention to all utility and safety requirements for the processing and lab equipment along with close coordination with the owner and equipment manufacturers.
With the spaces and lab and process equipment fully defined, the design team reconciled the actual phase-three HVAC loads with the system assumptions made early in the project. IMEG collaborated with the contractor to ensure the final HVAC design remained within the project budget and schedule.

Figure 3

Sensors constantly monitor room conditions, and all mechanical and electrical systems have redundancy. A CO2 enrichment system was also designed and utilized for the grow rooms.

Up and Running

MedPharm’s $10 million, 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility was fully complete and operational by November 2018, and the company began selling its product later that month from its dispensaries in Windsor Heights and Sioux City.
The company produces three products with ranging levels of cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD, and tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly referred to as THC. CBD is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid that can help people with seizures or Crohn’s and Parkinson’s diseases; THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid that can help people manage pain associated with cancers, Lou Gehrig’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and terminal illnesses.
The fast-track project was intense but rewarding, made possible by the skills of our design and construction teams and everyone’s willingness to work together from start to finish to ensure project success for the owner.