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Designing and building a cannabis grow operation in San Francisco or other parts of Northern California is no small task. When Presidential Garden Group took on the effort of converting a warehouse in Sacramento into a sophisticated growing facility, the team turned to Systems & Space Inc. (SSI) for a racking system. Presidential Garden Group is a project management and agriculture consulting company based in Sacramento.

“Like most growers, our goal was to maximize every cubic inch,” said Joshua King, lead technician for Presidential Garden Group.

The challenge

Like many retrofits, this project had many challenges, including architectural constraints and code requirements. For example, the veg and flower rooms required a rated shaft to support the roof-top HVAC unit. This constraint omitted nearly 100 square feet of grow area from these rooms and created other challenges for the designers.

Additionally, the team wanted to ensure they were creating a safe workplace. Because the Bay Area is prone to earthquakes, seismic activity was one consideration in the planning process.

Likewise, resource conservation was on the design team’s radar. That’s why Presidential Garden Group opted for LED lights, which due to their smaller size opened up the possibility of using mobile vertical racking, which added to the facility’s energy efficiency.

The decision

With efficiency and sustainability top of mind, the planning team began to research their options for racking. “Everything had to be designed with an eye toward ease of use, accessibility, optimization, efficiency and aesthetics,” King said.

Their investigation led them to Spacesaver, among several other options. Brad Lieber, an SSI consultant in the Bay Area, gave the Presidential team a tour of a few Northern California facilities that had installed Spacesaver GROW Mobile Systems. They visited other manufacturers’ clients to see their racking systems, too.

After comparing their options, they chose Spacesaver because of its low profile, powder-coated components, enclosed mechanisms and local support.

“It was a no-brainer,” King said. “Spacesaver was a little more expensive but provided a lot more support.”

The installation

Lieber and the Presidential team worked together to design the layout of the flowering rooms. The result was the installation of Spacesaver GROW Mobile Systems with a custom fit that also met all code requirements and featured anti-tip rails in case of earthquakes.

Compared to standard static tables, which would have delivered 359 square feet of canopy space per room, the Spacesaver GROW Mobile Systems maximized their yield, creating 1,000 square feet of canopy space per room with a larger aisle, due to the movable double-decker racking system.

After the racking system was in place, the team developed a plan for the remaining components. This feat was made easier due to Spacesaver’s integration with products from Hawthorne Gardening Co. The team chose lighting from Gavita, trays and irrigation from Hawthorne, and mobile-compatible ventilation systems.

“Everything works in tandem really beautifully,” King said. He and the team at Presidential Gardening Group are pleased to be growing nearly three times the canopy they would be with static tables — and they’re happy to be doing with a safe, energy-efficient system.

If you have a cannabis grow operation challenge, contact us and we’ll identify viable solutions for your business in Northern California and the Bay Area.