Columbia Care
Columbia Care establishes first 14 Florida Locations with Hurd Construction Management
Overview
Hurd Construction Management’s local knowledge and resources helped Columbia Care navigate regulatory challenges and address critical timing and capacity issues. The project analyzed 60 locations, and outfitted 56,000 square feet of retail space across 14 cities.
Hurd stepped up during our expansion into Florida, when we also had a broad national expansion already underway. Aligning with a provider that could bring intimate knowledge of the Florida market and resources to assist our team was important to us. Hurd jumped right in, helped us streamline site selection and brought a lot of value to our construction planning. Their advice and professional assistance was very helpful and their versatility to self-perform general contracting in several markets simplified things while providing additional assurance.
— National Construction Manager, Columbia Care
Project Insights from Our Founder
Founder and Managing Director Brandon Hurd summarizes the critical roles Hurd Construction Management filled during Columbia Care’s construction project.
The Challenge
When Columbia Care, one of the largest fully-integrated operators in the global cannabis industry, set their sights on expanding into Florida, they needed a partner that could provide statewide knowledge and support for site selection and construction management. Since acquiring a Florida medical marijuana license in 2018, Columbia Care charted a course of rapid geographic expansion so they could quickly make their market-leading care available to patients in the state.
Quickly Establishing Multiple Locations in a New State is a Challenge For Any Business, Especially During Times of Rapid National Expansion When Internal Resources are Stretched.
Hurd Construction Management worked with Columbia Care to deploy a strategic approach that solved for the unique complexities of the cannabis industry, Florida’s diverse regulatory landscape, and an uncompromising need to maintain the highest brand standards.
The Solution
The Hurd team provided a full range of services spanning site selection, design support, permitting, pre-construction, general contracting and post construction.
The strategic solution included:
- Site review and selection support
- CMA/Construction Manager as Advisor services for the 14 selected sites
- CMAC/Construction Manager as Constructor services for 6 sites
- Post construction and ongoing facility maintenance
- Hurricane and disaster preparedness plan documentation and implementation
Site Review and Selection Support
Given the regulated nature of the cannabis industry, site selection is inherently complicated. Hurd developed a specialized site criteria matrix to efficiently narrow choices and provided direct physical assessments of proposed locations, enabling Columbia Care to make quick, well informed site selection decisions.
Permitting Strategy
With deep re-development experience across the entire state of Florida, as sites were selected, Hurd provided critical input for design, made sure key regulatory issues were considered upfront, and engaged agencies proactively to speed up the permitting process. Through a careful blend of “art and science,” Hurd balanced timing and risk reducing permitting timelines by 50% as compared with a traditional linear process.
Scope Development and Vendor Management
Hurd Construction Management provided a roster of proven, pre-qualified contractors to support construction. Because Columbia Care’s patient-centered environments required a precise blending of construction materials, technology and high end finishes, Hurd only engaged contractors who had a proven track record of complex projects and high-quality performance. Hurd also provided a comprehensive responsibility matrix making sure all drawings and scopes were well understood and included contractors in pre-bid meetings to improve communication and bid comparability.
Hurd’s vendor management scope extended across dozens of trade and specialty contractors, ensuring proper sequencing, conflict avoidance and streamlined site activation.
Value Added Services
To address critical timing and capacity issues, Hurd strategically self-performed general contracting in 6 locations strengthening the rollout while adding additional control, quality assurance, and cost savings.
Finally, as part of the post-construction process, Hurd prepared and implemented a comprehensive facility maintenance program and service request management solution for all locations. including a comprehensive hurricane and disaster preparedness program.
The Results
Hurd Construction Management’s strategic services enabled Columbia Care to create 14 patient-centered dispensaries setting a new standard for innovation, education, and compassionate care in the Florida medical cannabis industry.
The results included:
- 60 locations reviewed/analyzed
- 14 locations selected and established
- 56,000 sq ft redeveloped or outfitted
- 85 subcontractors, suppliers, and vendors managed
Hurd Construction Management is honored to help support the great work Columbia Care is doing to bring patient-centered, compassionate medical cannabis care to patients in Florida. We are deeply proud of the high quality, innovative environments that we helped plan and construct as Columbia Care entered the Florida marketplace.
Brandon Hurd, Hurd Construction Management