Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Wellness Group Pharms is ready to start construction on its new marijuana cultivation facility, just outside of the Anna city limits.
Paul Montes, manager of Wellness Group Pharms, said the first building under construction will be about 27,000 square feet. The marijuana growers have the ability to expand to 280,000 square feet depending on the success of the program.
Montes said production will be under way as soon as the building is complete.
"We will have our building and production going in six months and after that we will have our first harvest," he said. "If everything goes according to plan, our first harvest will be about the first of 2016."
Icon Building Group, out of Algonquin, will be the general contractor on the project, but Montes said the company will use Southern Illinois sub-contractors.
Wellness Pharms is also looking to hire about 25 people in its initial phase, but with large amounts of expansion space, Montes said there could be room for substantial employment in the future.
"They are well-paying jobs with benefits," he said. "We want to do things right. The best employees are happy employees."
AmeriCann, of Denver, financial backer for the application process, will own the facility and get 25 percent of profits from cannabis sales, plus a 20 percent royalty from the sale of cannabis extractions and infused products. AmeriCann also will get an annual consulting fee of $240,000 and $6 per square foot lease payments, according to reporting by the Idaho Statesman.
Montes said part of the reason the corporation chose Union County for its site was the welcome reception it received from county officials. He said the company wants to work with the county by offering revenue sharing, price assistance to dispensaries and lower concessions for veterans and people having trouble affording the medicine.
"We are also going to do a scholarship fund," Montes said. "We really want to be a good neighbor with the community and we will be."
As a cultivator, Wellness Group Pharms may only sell to any of the 60 licensed dispensaries in the state. Individuals will not be able to buy marijuana directly from the cultivator.
"We can only sell it to the dispensaries, which we will deliver to," Montes said.
Education about medical marijuana is also a goal of Wellness Pharms, he said, citing there is too much of a perception that people are just selling marijuana to make money.
"This program is strictly medicinal cannabis," Montes said. "It is really a medical element. That message isn't being promoted enough and that is the reason we got into this business."
Illinois has approved about 1,000 patients for the state's medical marijuana program.
Montes, who is from Elmhurst, said he is moving to Union County, along with a partner, to be a part of the day-to-day operations of the cultivation center.
"We are jumping in and being a member of the community," he said. "It is a huge responsibility for us to do this properly."
Wellness Pharms will join Ieso, LLC, as the two cultivation centers in Southern Illinois.
Ieso has plans to build a 50,000-square-foot facility at the Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro.
Dispensaries in Southern Illinois include Terra Herbal Health, LLC, in Marion, owned by Brian Fox, and the Kirkwood Pharmacy Group of Anna LLC.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana cultivator ready to build near Anna : Anna
Author: Dustin Duncan
Contact: dustin.duncan@thesouthern.com
Photo Credit: Byron Hetzler
Website: thesouthern.com - Southern Illinois news, Carbondale, Marion IL
Paul Montes, manager of Wellness Group Pharms, said the first building under construction will be about 27,000 square feet. The marijuana growers have the ability to expand to 280,000 square feet depending on the success of the program.
Montes said production will be under way as soon as the building is complete.
"We will have our building and production going in six months and after that we will have our first harvest," he said. "If everything goes according to plan, our first harvest will be about the first of 2016."
Icon Building Group, out of Algonquin, will be the general contractor on the project, but Montes said the company will use Southern Illinois sub-contractors.
Wellness Pharms is also looking to hire about 25 people in its initial phase, but with large amounts of expansion space, Montes said there could be room for substantial employment in the future.
"They are well-paying jobs with benefits," he said. "We want to do things right. The best employees are happy employees."
AmeriCann, of Denver, financial backer for the application process, will own the facility and get 25 percent of profits from cannabis sales, plus a 20 percent royalty from the sale of cannabis extractions and infused products. AmeriCann also will get an annual consulting fee of $240,000 and $6 per square foot lease payments, according to reporting by the Idaho Statesman.
Montes said part of the reason the corporation chose Union County for its site was the welcome reception it received from county officials. He said the company wants to work with the county by offering revenue sharing, price assistance to dispensaries and lower concessions for veterans and people having trouble affording the medicine.
"We are also going to do a scholarship fund," Montes said. "We really want to be a good neighbor with the community and we will be."
As a cultivator, Wellness Group Pharms may only sell to any of the 60 licensed dispensaries in the state. Individuals will not be able to buy marijuana directly from the cultivator.
"We can only sell it to the dispensaries, which we will deliver to," Montes said.
Education about medical marijuana is also a goal of Wellness Pharms, he said, citing there is too much of a perception that people are just selling marijuana to make money.
"This program is strictly medicinal cannabis," Montes said. "It is really a medical element. That message isn't being promoted enough and that is the reason we got into this business."
Illinois has approved about 1,000 patients for the state's medical marijuana program.
Montes, who is from Elmhurst, said he is moving to Union County, along with a partner, to be a part of the day-to-day operations of the cultivation center.
"We are jumping in and being a member of the community," he said. "It is a huge responsibility for us to do this properly."
Wellness Pharms will join Ieso, LLC, as the two cultivation centers in Southern Illinois.
Ieso has plans to build a 50,000-square-foot facility at the Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro.
Dispensaries in Southern Illinois include Terra Herbal Health, LLC, in Marion, owned by Brian Fox, and the Kirkwood Pharmacy Group of Anna LLC.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana cultivator ready to build near Anna : Anna
Author: Dustin Duncan
Contact: dustin.duncan@thesouthern.com
Photo Credit: Byron Hetzler
Website: thesouthern.com - Southern Illinois news, Carbondale, Marion IL
