Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Sangamon County's second medical marijuana dispensary could be open by early September, but the facility would open in Grandview and not in Springfield, as originally planned.
Maribis of Springfield, owned by Chicago lawyer Laurel Dineff, plans to lease a 5,100-square-foot building at 2272 North Grand Ave. E. in Grandview, a village of about 1,400 people that is surrounded by the city of Springfield, Maribis spokesman Bret Bender said.
The company's previous location at 322 E. Adams St. in downtown Springfield was part of the company's proposal when Gov. Bruce Rauner awarded dispensary licenses in March 2015.
Rauner awarded two licenses, to Maribis and HCI Alternatives, for the Illinois State Police district that includes Sangamon and six nearby counties.
But extensive renovations required on Maribis' two-story building, which the company learned about after Dineff bought it for $300,000 from developer Charles Robbins, prompted the company to look for another location, Bender said.
"It would have taken too long to perform all the renovations that were needed there," Bender said.
He wouldn't reveal how much the renovations would cost but said they would include work on main water lines and the heating and air-conditioning system. The fixes would have taken another two years to complete, he said.
The one-story Grandview building, which is vacant and originally was built to house a grocery store, won't require nearly as much work, Bender said.
The renovation cost in Grandview would be "well under a half-million dollars," he said, adding that the dispensary could be open by Labor Day. "We're really interested in serving the patients sooner rather than later."
Dineff hasn't decided what to do with the downtown Springfield building, Bender said.
'Asset to the village'
'Asset to the village'
HCI Alternatives opened its dispensary in February at 628 E. Adams St. in downtown Springfield. The competition from HCI, which has a big head start, will be a challenge for Maribis, Bender said.
But he said Maribis' new location - three miles northeast of its original site - could be an advantage because the Grandview building is closer to Interstate 55.
Once open, Maribis would employ at least five to 10 people initially and eventually ramp up to 25 or 30 employees, Bender said. The facility would sell medical marijuana and related products produced by Maribis' cultivation center in suburban Chicago and by other companies' Illinois cultivation centers, he said.
Maribis plans to open a dispensary in Chicago in July, said Bender, the company's director of strategic planning.
The name Maribis is a combination of the words marijuana and cannabis, he said.
Before Maribis could set up shop in Grandview, action by village officials would be required.
"Anytime the village can bring in more sales tax, we're all for that," Village President Mark Woolen said. "We think it would be an asset to the village.
Woolen said he didn't know of any opposition to the proposal.
Grandview's Zoning Board of Appeals plans to meet at 6 p.m. June 23 at the Grandview Utility Building, 2377 E. Reservoir St., to conduct a public hearing on whether the village's 1989 zoning ordinance should be changed to add cannabis dispensaries to the list of permitted uses in commercial zones.
The zoning board is expected to take a vote after the public hearing. The zoning board's nonbinding recommendation will be considered by the Grandview Village Board when it meets to make a final decision at 5:30 p.m. July 5 in the Utility Building, village attorney John Myers said.
Bender said he is preparing paperwork to file with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to request a dispensary location change. He said the department has approved such changes twice before in other parts of the state.
Once paperwork is received, the department would be able to make a decision within a few days, IDFPR spokesman Terry Horstman said.
Pete Ochs, chairman of the Grandview zoning board, said he hasn't heard of any opposition to the idea of a medical marijuana dispensary.
"I cannot see that there would be an issue with it," said Ochs, 60, a former village president.
Neighbors OK with it
The building, owned by a longstanding company called Greenleaf Holdings - not believed to be involved in the past with medical marijuana - complies with state zoning restrictions and is more than 1,000 feet from a child care center or child care home, Bender said.
The building for about eight months was the home of Escape Springfield, which offered live-action "escape rooms" for entertainment, team building and education. That business left in March and now operates at 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 300, owner Rebecca Henderson said.
Linda Enlow, 60, who is frequently at the home of her granddaughters across the two-lane road from the potential dispensary site, said she would have no concerns and would appreciate a stable business there.
"These places - everybody knows they're pretty secure," she said.
Enlow, who often baby-sits her granddaughters, ages 5, 8 and 9, said her daughter and son-in-law wouldn't mind a dispensary opening, either.
Enlow said she is considering applying for the state's medical marijuana pilot program because black-market marijuana has helped her deal with pain related to several chronic health issues.
Another potential neighbor, Chris Mikus, 33, owner of Safeguard General Contracting Inc. at 2303 North Grand Ave. E, said: "I don't have any issues with it. It's regulated. It's like going to the drugstore and getting a prescription, in my eyes. The tax revenue would be good for Grandview."
Thomas McCarty, 36, a Green Hyundai service technician who lives with his mother immediately south of the proposed dispensary, said, "As long as they don't bother me, I don't have a problem."
In a building next to the potential dispensary and on the same site, a business known as Laser Innovations handles laser printer repairs and supplies. Employee John Farris, 51, said, "We're not worried about (the dispensary). ... It's a free market."
Positive developments
HCI Alternatives now serves 150 patients, according to Jay Cook, HCI's director of education and community outreach.
The company, which needs to regularly serve at least 400 patients to remain financially viable in the long term, may lose some patients to Maribis, Cook said. But the publicity about Maribis' opening could result in more patients for both businesses, he said.
Rauner's recent comments indicating he is likely to sign a bill extending the expiration date of Illinois' medical marijuana program from late 2017 to July 1, 2020, will help the fledgling industry, Cook said.
The bill also could persuade more local doctors to help patients wanting to qualify for the program, he said.
Under Senate Bill 10, the required written certifications signed by doctors as part of the patient application process no longer would say doctors believe their patients would receive a therapeutic or palliative benefit from medical marijuana.
If the bill becomes law, doctors would certify only that their patients have one of the medical conditions qualifying people for the program.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Second Local Medical Marijuana Dispensary Operator Eyes Grandview Site
Author: Dean Olsen
Contact: (217) 788-1300
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The State Journal Register
Maribis of Springfield, owned by Chicago lawyer Laurel Dineff, plans to lease a 5,100-square-foot building at 2272 North Grand Ave. E. in Grandview, a village of about 1,400 people that is surrounded by the city of Springfield, Maribis spokesman Bret Bender said.
The company's previous location at 322 E. Adams St. in downtown Springfield was part of the company's proposal when Gov. Bruce Rauner awarded dispensary licenses in March 2015.
Rauner awarded two licenses, to Maribis and HCI Alternatives, for the Illinois State Police district that includes Sangamon and six nearby counties.
But extensive renovations required on Maribis' two-story building, which the company learned about after Dineff bought it for $300,000 from developer Charles Robbins, prompted the company to look for another location, Bender said.
"It would have taken too long to perform all the renovations that were needed there," Bender said.
He wouldn't reveal how much the renovations would cost but said they would include work on main water lines and the heating and air-conditioning system. The fixes would have taken another two years to complete, he said.
The one-story Grandview building, which is vacant and originally was built to house a grocery store, won't require nearly as much work, Bender said.
The renovation cost in Grandview would be "well under a half-million dollars," he said, adding that the dispensary could be open by Labor Day. "We're really interested in serving the patients sooner rather than later."
Dineff hasn't decided what to do with the downtown Springfield building, Bender said.
'Asset to the village'
'Asset to the village'
HCI Alternatives opened its dispensary in February at 628 E. Adams St. in downtown Springfield. The competition from HCI, which has a big head start, will be a challenge for Maribis, Bender said.
But he said Maribis' new location - three miles northeast of its original site - could be an advantage because the Grandview building is closer to Interstate 55.
Once open, Maribis would employ at least five to 10 people initially and eventually ramp up to 25 or 30 employees, Bender said. The facility would sell medical marijuana and related products produced by Maribis' cultivation center in suburban Chicago and by other companies' Illinois cultivation centers, he said.
Maribis plans to open a dispensary in Chicago in July, said Bender, the company's director of strategic planning.
The name Maribis is a combination of the words marijuana and cannabis, he said.
Before Maribis could set up shop in Grandview, action by village officials would be required.
"Anytime the village can bring in more sales tax, we're all for that," Village President Mark Woolen said. "We think it would be an asset to the village.
Woolen said he didn't know of any opposition to the proposal.
Grandview's Zoning Board of Appeals plans to meet at 6 p.m. June 23 at the Grandview Utility Building, 2377 E. Reservoir St., to conduct a public hearing on whether the village's 1989 zoning ordinance should be changed to add cannabis dispensaries to the list of permitted uses in commercial zones.
The zoning board is expected to take a vote after the public hearing. The zoning board's nonbinding recommendation will be considered by the Grandview Village Board when it meets to make a final decision at 5:30 p.m. July 5 in the Utility Building, village attorney John Myers said.
Bender said he is preparing paperwork to file with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to request a dispensary location change. He said the department has approved such changes twice before in other parts of the state.
Once paperwork is received, the department would be able to make a decision within a few days, IDFPR spokesman Terry Horstman said.
Pete Ochs, chairman of the Grandview zoning board, said he hasn't heard of any opposition to the idea of a medical marijuana dispensary.
"I cannot see that there would be an issue with it," said Ochs, 60, a former village president.
Neighbors OK with it
The building, owned by a longstanding company called Greenleaf Holdings - not believed to be involved in the past with medical marijuana - complies with state zoning restrictions and is more than 1,000 feet from a child care center or child care home, Bender said.
The building for about eight months was the home of Escape Springfield, which offered live-action "escape rooms" for entertainment, team building and education. That business left in March and now operates at 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 300, owner Rebecca Henderson said.
Linda Enlow, 60, who is frequently at the home of her granddaughters across the two-lane road from the potential dispensary site, said she would have no concerns and would appreciate a stable business there.
"These places - everybody knows they're pretty secure," she said.
Enlow, who often baby-sits her granddaughters, ages 5, 8 and 9, said her daughter and son-in-law wouldn't mind a dispensary opening, either.
Enlow said she is considering applying for the state's medical marijuana pilot program because black-market marijuana has helped her deal with pain related to several chronic health issues.
Another potential neighbor, Chris Mikus, 33, owner of Safeguard General Contracting Inc. at 2303 North Grand Ave. E, said: "I don't have any issues with it. It's regulated. It's like going to the drugstore and getting a prescription, in my eyes. The tax revenue would be good for Grandview."
Thomas McCarty, 36, a Green Hyundai service technician who lives with his mother immediately south of the proposed dispensary, said, "As long as they don't bother me, I don't have a problem."
In a building next to the potential dispensary and on the same site, a business known as Laser Innovations handles laser printer repairs and supplies. Employee John Farris, 51, said, "We're not worried about (the dispensary). ... It's a free market."
Positive developments
HCI Alternatives now serves 150 patients, according to Jay Cook, HCI's director of education and community outreach.
The company, which needs to regularly serve at least 400 patients to remain financially viable in the long term, may lose some patients to Maribis, Cook said. But the publicity about Maribis' opening could result in more patients for both businesses, he said.
Rauner's recent comments indicating he is likely to sign a bill extending the expiration date of Illinois' medical marijuana program from late 2017 to July 1, 2020, will help the fledgling industry, Cook said.
The bill also could persuade more local doctors to help patients wanting to qualify for the program, he said.
Under Senate Bill 10, the required written certifications signed by doctors as part of the patient application process no longer would say doctors believe their patients would receive a therapeutic or palliative benefit from medical marijuana.
If the bill becomes law, doctors would certify only that their patients have one of the medical conditions qualifying people for the program.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Second Local Medical Marijuana Dispensary Operator Eyes Grandview Site
Author: Dean Olsen
Contact: (217) 788-1300
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The State Journal Register
