Milliken Dispensary and Extraction Facility
MARIJUANA FACILITIES
COMPLETED: 2020
LOCATION: Milliken, CO
CONSTRUCTION COST: N/A
PROJECT AREA: 8,500 SF
This facility is a two-story heavy timber frame building with a mezzanine designed for use as a Marijuana Dispensary and Extraction Lab. The facility incorporates offices, retail space, and an extraction facility with a commercial kitchen. The unique retail space occupies the second floor with the extraction facility below on the first floor. The two spaces are visually connected with sections of glass flooring that has a fritted pattern on the lower side. The “showroom” quality of the retail store is designed to attract customers interested in learning more about the industry and by default the area, much like a museum.
The site plan also accommodates for future expansion. Unlike the standard strip mall dispensary location, the landscape design of this project is organized to provide large green and open spaces. The landscape is distinctly integrated into the building to create an outdoor classroom atmosphere, allowing the community to gather and learn about the growing industry. Additionally, the barn-like structure with a grand deck and covered patio provides a “front-porch” like gathering space.
The design of the structure fully embraces the town’s identity, “defined by the area’s rich agricultural heritage, lands and operations.” The structure of the dispensary originated from a pre-fab barn, mimicking the traditional agriculture building. Marijuana is the modern agricultural crop, though its growth on the site is not scheduled to come till later, the dispensary is designed to educate the public on how the crop goes from field to use, shinning light on the agricultural industry.
The design of the site accommodates mobility of all types, from semi-truck to pedestrians the goal of the development is to make the project accessible to everyone in the community. The project even provides parking infrastructure for equestrians, taking into account the small town, country heritage of the town. That is, hitching posts are located outside the dispensary for customers coming on horseback.
