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Thursday, December 9, 2004

Plan For Estancia Complex Blooms

By Beth Hahn
Mountain View Telegraph
    A million square feet of empty greenhouses south of Estancia will be the new home to a Colorado-based flower wholesaler.
    Tagawa Greenhouses Inc., based in Brighton, Colo., bought the former Sunnyland Farms greenhouses in a deal the company says will bring about 50 full-time jobs and about 60 seasonal positions to the area.
    Bill Kluth, development manager for Tagawa, said the company could begin hiring Jan. 1.
    Salaries will range from about $20,000 to about $40,000 a year. Kluth said it will take several months for the company to reach full employment because of construction.
    The million-square-foot property, previously used to grow tomatoes, was closed in 2000 because of infected tomato plants. It reopened in 2002 and had a change in ownership before a fire closed the business again in the fall of 2003.
    Kluth said none of the greenhouses was damaged in the fire, but a support warehouse was. The warehouse is being rebuilt by Tagawa in preparation for next year's opening, he said, and Tagawa also could potentially expand the facility.
    Kluth said another company, Western Water and Power Co., has obtained permits to locate a 35-megawatt power plant near the greenhouses. Western Water and Power has not indicated a timeframe for building a plant, however, or made a final decision to locate in the Estancia Valley.
    The power plant would be fueled by cut trees and other woody material from forest thinning projects, and excess heat from the electricity generating process would be used to warm the greenhouse.
    Rather than tomatoes, Tagawa will use the greenhouses to grow flowering and bedding plants such as pansies, petunias and impatiens. The company sells flowers and other plants wholesale to businesses such as Albertson's, Home Depot, Kroger's and Ace Hardware.
    Bill Williams, president of the Estancia Valley Economic Development Association, said he is pleased with Tagawa's decision to buy the greenhouses.
    "It's going to be a big asset," he said. "We know it's going to be a success story for the entire valley area."