A former auto parts plant in Kitchener is about to become a massive marijuana manufacturing facility.

James E. Wagner Cultivation Ltd (JWC) took possession of the former Lear plant Friday. The building at Homer Watson Boulevard and Manitou Drive has been vacant since 2015.

Nathan Woodworth, the president and CEO of JWC, said the company plans on using the 345,000-square-foot building to produce high quality cannabis.

He predicts this will create 400 to 600 new jobs including growers, office staff, members of their sale team, and more.

Once renovated, the new location will produce an estimated 90 kilograms of cannabis a day.

“We will be the largest aeroponic producer of any crop anywhere in the world as far as we’re aware,” Woodwarth said. Aeroponics involves growing vegetation without soil and the roots are suspended and sprayed with water or a nutrient solution.

JWC will continue to work out of their existing 15,000-square-foot building as well.

Woodworth said he has begun planning for a third marijuana facility he hopes to build in Kitchener within the next couple of years. He expects the building to top out at over a million square-feet.