The location approved for a cannabis growing and wholesale facility at 15 Leonard Street. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A company approved as Red Bank’s sole cannabis cultivator and wholesaler watched its initial crop wither and die and has been unable to get back up and running due to a lack of sufficient electric power, the facility operator says.
Despite two years of work on the indoor farm, including installing a row of new transmission lines leading along borough streets to the address, operator Alexander Federico said the place is still far short of the juice it needs to grow the plants, with hope fading that they’ll get the farm up and running any time soon.
Federico blames power supplier Jersey Central Power and Light for what he called slow movement on an application the company made to upgrade service so it can receive the large amounts of power needed to run lamps, heating, and air conditioning systems. The company has had to lay off all its workers and has yet to produce a single bong hit worth of sellable product, according to Federico.
“It’s been a nightmare,” he told redbankgreen standing outside the 15 Leonard Street facility recently. “It’s very disheartening. We’re completely belly up on the finances here.”
One of the new transmission poles leading to the indoor cannabis farm. (photo by Brian Donohue)
A spokesperson for JCP&L said the company is prohibited by privacy rules from commenting on cases involving specific customers.
“JCP&L works diligently with our customers to provide safe and reliable electric service, and our engineers collaborate closely with any customer that requests upgraded service to ensure that we are able to meet the demands of businesses small and large in our service territory,” said Christopher Hoenig, spokesman for First Energy Corp, which owns JCP&L said in an emailed statement.
Owners of the business received Planning Board approval to open an indoor cannabis growing facility inside several warehouse-type buildings at 15 Leonard Street in December 2022. (see story below).
RED BANK: INDOOR CANNABIS FARM APPROVED
The business was to be owned by Susan and William Duckworth, owners of the property. Attempts to reach both, including multiple in-person visits and messages left at the family’s other business in Red Bank and calls and text messages to their attorney, were not returned.
Federico, then an executive with Full Spectrum Biotech, a California-based cannabis manufacturing company testified at the planning board hearings (see photo below) that the facility would operate under a cannabis cultivator license issued to Full Spectrum by the state of New Jersey.
Subsequent applications filed with the Borough for construction permits and the license on file with the NJ State Cannabis Regulatory Commission now list the company name as Market Wave LLC.
Federico said last week the company applied to JCP&L for an electric upgrade immediately after receiving borough approvals in December, 2022. He said the facility currently has 300 amps of power – which he said is about what a typical home requires – but needs about 3500 amps to grow its crop.
“We tried to get a couple lights going but due to our power constraints all the plants pretty much died,” he said. “You need 16 full weeks of uninterrupted power source. So we’ve had a really tough struggle at it.”
Federico pointed to a long line of new transmission poles running along Leonard Street and Maple Bridge Avenue he said the business footed the bill for.
“We had to run power lines through the whole town,” he said, adding power company workers were on the scene in November working “like gangbusters every day” to fulfill the company’s request but have not returned since. 
According to The NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission web site, Market Wave LLC’s Class I cultivator license is valid until July 10, 2025. Asked whether he thinks the business will be up and running any time soon, Federico was not optimistic.
“I have to stay bullish and ambitious because I have my life savings, my entire life’s work is on this project,” he said. “But come talk to me in six months and see if we’re operating? I’m not hopeful.”
Federico has also found himself the subject of a lawsuit filed by a West Long Branch check cashing business who said a $20,000 check he issued to a contractor bounced.
In a complaint filed in November 2023, Community Check Cashing Incorporated sued Federico in his capacity as the owner of another company listed at 15 Leonard Street, Power Play Management LLC, along with GK Contracting LLC of Toms River. The check cashing company alleged a check written by Federico to GK Contracting had insufficient funds to cover the balance.
On May 29, 2024 a state superior court judge ordered the defendants to pay $24,266.48, court records show.
That was followed by a writ of execution issued to the Monmouth County Sherriff’s Department on Dec. 30, 2024 by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Marc C Lemieux authorizing officers to seize the property for lack of payment. Federico said the dispute arose when he wrote the contractor a check for work done at the facility, then cancelled the check and paid them in cash.
The Borough of Red Bank’s 2022 cannabis ordinance allows one wholesale or growing facility within town borders. Three retail cannabis facilities also allowed under the ordinance are up and running.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
