Locations in Bedford and Cambria counties were among a total of 13 medical marijuana grow/processing facilities approved in a second round of permitting.

“In this next phase … we are fully implementing the program to expand access to this medication to every part of the state,” Rachel Levine, secretary of the state Department of Health, said in a statement.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced the second phase of permit recipients Tuesday.

And among them were Green Leaf Medicals LLC, which received approval for the former Seton plant along Horton Road in Saxton, and Hanging Gardens LLC, which was approved for Iron Street in Johnstown.

More than 90 permit application were submitted for Phase 2 consideration.

Those applications were scored, and the top two highest scorers in each of the state’s six regions were awarded permits. A 13th permit was awarded to the highest scorer overall, meaning three growing/processing facilities were approved in the southwest region.

Green Leaf Medicals was the highest scorer in the southcentral region receiving 734.5 points out of a possible 1,000.

In Maryland, the company operates under the slightly different name Green Leaf Medical LLC.

Last month, Green Leaf CEO Philip Goldberg spoke at his company’s growing facility in Frederick, Md., expressing confidence that the Saxton site would receive a permit.

“We feel so good about that application,” Goldberg said at that time. “If we can’t win with this one, we’ll never win in Pennsylvania.”

Goldberg spoke over the phone Tuesday to express his excitement.

“What a relief,” he said.

Green Leaf is poised to set up inside the former Seton leather plant at 135 Horton Drive.

Company officials have estimated it will cost about $12 million to set up the Saxton facility, which will include both growing and processing technology, Goldberg said.

Before growing can begin, parts of the existing building must be demolished, and new construction must be completed, Goldberg said, explaining it likely will be six months before the facility is operational.

“At this point, we are going to start demo as soon as possible,” he said, adding that investors already have of­fered funds to get the job done. “We have a lot of cash at our disposal to start spending.”

That includes an additional $3 million to cover operating costs and salaries for a year, he said.

Previously, Goldberg said the Saxton facility eventually could employ about 100 people.

That’s good news for Saxton; the Seton plant used to employ about 1,000 people but has been vacant for about a decade, said Bette Slayton, president and CEO of the Bedford County Develop­ment Association.

Slayton talked about the economic impact of the closing of Seton, which produced leather automobile upholstery.

“That was a blow to the community,” she said.

In the years that followed, Bedford’s economic leaders advertised the 274,000-square-foot building in as many ways as possible, Slayton said.

They had no luck until after April 2016, when Pennsylvania’s Medical Mari­juana Program was signed into law.

“That was when we first received a phone call from Phil,” she said. “I told him about the community and how he really would be a hero in the community.”

And the community was receptive, as well, Slayton said.

“I cite Saxton as a case study on how rural communities should do economic development,” she said. “They didn’t say no right away; they didn’t say yes. They said ‘We want to learn more.'”

Goldberg met with local leaders, and his company eventually spent about $650,000 to purchase the building.

But in a first round of permitting by the state, Green Leaf fell short, postponing plans for growing in Saxton.

“We were all hugely disappointed, and yet we did not give up,” Slayton said.

In the first round of permitting, 12 grower/processors were licensed to operate within the state.

Not discouraged, Green Leaf officials entered another application during the second round, and on Tuesday, Slayton said she received phone calls from state Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford, and Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Cambria. They told her about Green Leaf’s success.

“We are over the moon with excitement,” she said.

That excitement was echoed by Goldberg, who found out about the permit in an email Tuesday.

“It was truly overwhelming. We’re really excited to bring jobs to the community,” Goldberg said, noting that support from the community has been motivating. “For us, it’s those hardworking employees that we are excited to put back to work.”

Goldberg said his company plans to hire local employees and to train them at the already operational Frederick facility.

Those who are trained eventually will become managers at the Saxon site, he said. Goldberg has said previously that Green Leaf salaries are competitive.

Saxton Mayor Alan Smith spoke about just how important those jobs will be to his community, which has experienced a period of economic disparity.

“When we see some of the societal issues that we face in communities in rural areas — hopelessness, lack of fulfillment — it’s all connected really to jobs,” he said.

The addition, tax dollars, jobs and Green Leaf’s revenue-sharing agreements with local organizations will do much to reverse that negative outlook, he said.

“I think we will see a change in the image, the identity, the culture,” he said. “It’s uplifting.”

In Cambria County, Hang­ing Gardens received a score of 798.5 percent, securing a permit in the southwest region.

Now, Hanging Gardens is on track to set up at 108 Iron St.

Melissa Komar, executive director of the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority, said she could not answer questions about the approved facility Tuesday.

She also revealed that Hanging Gardens officials were operating under a “media blackout.”

Komar did, however, issue a short news release. It explained that Hanging Gardens entered into a lease agreement with the authority several months ago, hoping to secure the permit.

After the Tuesday an­nouncement, that hope has become a reality.

“The Johnstown Re­de­vel­op­­ment Authority could not be more proud of the time and effort that it took to bring this lease to fruition, and we look forward to working with Hanging Gardens LLC for many years as this continues our redevelopment on Iron Street. The economic effect and job creation will have an impact for decades,” Komar said in a statement.