NORTH ANDOVER — Dr. Jeff Goldstein is hunting for “a billion-dollar molecule.” But to find it, he first needs permission from residents here to grow marijuana — actually, a stupendous amount of marijuana.

That’s why, on Sunday afternoon, he was pacing anxiously behind a small folding table in the lobby of Osgood Landing, the massive former Lucent Technologies plant he bought with his wife in 2003 and now hopes to convert into one of the world’s largest indoor marijuana growing and research centers.

Goldstein was hosting an open house for North Andover residents ahead of a Town Meeting vote Tuesday on a series of bylaws that would pave the way for his 1.1-million-square-foot marijuana facility. One would authorize the town to negotiate compensation from his company, Massachusetts Innovation Works, that could be worth $100 million over 20 years to North Andover.

“I live around the corner,” Goldstein blurted out to one couple, eager to prove his local credentials. “If you go down to Foster Street and make a left, that’s where I am.” [Read [email protected]]