Pot growers around the state of Illinois are racing to get up and running, with no clear start date yet for medical marijuana users.
Meanwhile, those users will travel to Milan, and not Rock Island, when they buy the pot.
"The latest is, we're going to build in Milan," said Quad City businessman Matt Stern.
Stern was going to build off Andalusia Road in Rock Island, but says he couldn't get zoning changes quickly enough to meet state deadlines.
Instead, he will build on a three-acre parcel of land he already owns in Milan, next to his liquor distributorship.
"There was just so much to do in so little time. According to state regulation we need to be up and running in six months or we would have to forfeit our bond. We simply ran out of time and couldn't make the deadline," Stern said.
The Milan land also falls in a tax increment financing district.
Stern says he hopes to break ground in 4 to 5 weeks.
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