More than 100 people filled the lobby of the 250,000-square-foot cultivation center in Matteson on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of Illinois’ largest cannabis cultivation and production facility.
The ceremony marked the completion of the first phase of 4Front Ventures’ multi-phase expansion project in Illinois. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company plans continued growth and development in the region.
“We faced our share of challenges, from designing the facility to our specific specifications, to navigating the state’s ever-changing cannabis laws,” said Andrew Thut, CEO of 4Front Ventures. “But we stayed the course and it was worth every second.”
The facility includes 47,000 square feet of flower canopy and 70,000 square feet of manufacturing space, supporting production of more than 10 in-house brands and thousands of products, the company said in a press release.
Thut said that while the company could have held the groundbreaking sooner, it chose to wait until the facility was fully operational and the first harvests were underway. The first plants were planted at the beginning of July, he said.
Growing marijuana in a temperature-controlled indoor environment is a year-round operation, with plants continually maturing as new ones are planted after those harvested.
Through its dispensaries, 4Front offers a variety of brands, including Crystal Clear, Funky Monkey and Pebbles, according to its website.
Crops produced at the Matteson facility will supply 4Front dispensaries, which operate under the name Mission Dispensaries and serve medical and recreational cannabis to customers in Southeast Chicago and Calumet City.
The center will produce a range of products, including flower, concentrates, vaporizers, edibles, topicals and other cannabis-infused items, which will be available at Mission dispensaries across Illinois and through partners wholesalers, officials said.
The company began construction in August 2021, and the final facility is expected to cover 558,000 square feet and employ 500 people.
The first phase, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2022, was expected to create 240 good-paying jobs in the Matteson area, according to a news release. During the second phase, 4Front plans to expand its facility by 300,000 square feet and add an additional 260 jobs.
Thut announced Tuesday that the facility has created more than 85 jobs, with more positions expected in the coming months as they continue to expand their operations and provide career development opportunities.
“We look forward to growing alongside this community for many years to come, but today is just the beginning,” Thut said. “Going forward, this facility will play a key role in our expansion plans. Illinois is a key market for our company and we are committed to deepening our roots here.
Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin said the cultivation and cultivation facilities are another example of the village’s tax base diversifying.
“The addition of 4Front Ventures to our community reflects our collective commitment to ensuring we remain a regional leader in attracting diverse forms of economic development within our border,” she told attendees. “I want to thank 4Front for choosing Matheson as their new home.”
The village supported a class 8 property tax incentive by Cook County for development, which lowers the tax classification rate to the same level as a residential property.
While commercial properties are typically assessed at 25% of their fair market value, the Class 8 designation, although temporary, reduces that rate to just 10%.
State Rep. Debbie Myers-Martin hailed the facility as a successful effort to spur economic development in the south suburbs, highlighting its role in efforts to legalize recreational marijuana sales in Illinois.
“We realized that this would do wonders for the state in terms of revenue generation, job creation and everything that we have seen over the last five years,” she said.
In July, Illinois reached $1 billion in retail cannabis sales, two weeks earlier than in 2023, according to the governor’s office. Since the legalization of recreational cannabis in 2020, tax revenues from sales have funded $244 million in R3 grants, supporting economic development, violence prevention and youth programs in underserved communities across the state , the office said.
The project was financed by Innovative Industrial Properties and 4Front leased the building from IIP. At the groundbreaking, former 4Front COO JT Archer said the cost to build the 250,000-square-foot facility was $45 million, not including equipment necessary for cultivation.
4Front also operates dispensaries in Massachusetts and Michigan, as well as a cultivation and cultivation center in Massachusetts.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
Originally published:
