Journal & Topics Media Group

Wheeling Approves Cannabis Grower, Infuser Operation

Developer Still Waiting On State License

Floorplans for 1837 Craft Grow in Wheeling by Daylight Studio.

Even though owners of 1837 Craft Grow, LLC have yet to receive a state license to manufacture cannabis products, they came one step closer to opening a facility in Wheeling this week.

Village trustees unanimously approved an ordinance granting a special use permit for a cannabis cultivation center at 1480 S. Wolf Rd. DGI Supply, a product supply company with locations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, currently operates out of the 52.950 sq. ft. building.

Wheeling Community Development Director Ross Klicker confirmed that developers of 1837 Craft Grow intend to buy the 4.38-acre property located just north of Willow Road. However, he said they intend to wait until they are issued a state license.

“Manufacturing and other types of industrial endeavors are becoming less viable due to the global economy,” said developers of their plans for the building. “The facility will yield a reasonable return and will help counter the product shortage that dispensaries throughout the state are experiencing.”

According to U.S. Securities Exchange Commission filings, 1837 Craft Grow, LLC’s current address is 180 N. Stetson Ave., Suite 2450, Chicago. Nosa Ehimwenman, James Oreal, John Cochran and Jon Zitzman are listed as managers of the company. 

Ehimwenman is also listed as the president and CEO of Bowa Construction, which is located at the same address.

Plans for the site include resurfacing of the parking lot, enhanced parking lot and perimeter landscaping, increased parking lot and building lighting, a new exterior trash enclosure, a new bike rack and new rooftop HVAC units, according to a village staff memorandum.

If plans move forward, the facility is expected to include an office, space for manufacturing and storage space, per floorplan designs from Daylight Studio. Developers expect the facility to operate 24-hours a day and 40 to 50 employees are expected to work on-site. 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its strain on government operations, Gov. JB Pritzker issued an executive order June 29 halting the issuance of up to 40 grower licenses, up to 40 infuser licenses and an unlimited number of transporting organization licenses in the state, and extending the application deadline to Sept. 1. Before the pandemic hit, the state was expected to issue licenses by July 1.

Since the executive order, there has been no update as to when the license applications might be reviewed and approved.

State legislators approved the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act last year to allow for the cultivation, manufacturing, sale and use of adult use recreational marijuana products in Illinois beginning Jan. 1 of this year. By the end of 2019, Wheeling had amended its village code to allow craft growers and infusers — organizations that infuse products such as food with cannabis — as special uses in the village, according to Klicker.

Now that trustees have approved the special use plan for the 1837 Craft Grow, the next step for business owners once they obtain a state license and purchase the land is to obtain building permits from Wheeling, Klicker said.

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