GALESBURG, Ill. — A cannabis shop in Galesburg is getting a multi-million dollar expansion that could lead to more jobs and economic growth for the city.
Nature's Treatment of Illinois (NTI) is not only expanding into its 8,600 square feet of vacant building space but also adding about 10,000 square feet total on three sides of the building.
The upgrades will allow the business to grow cannabis out of five rooms with modern technology.
"They'll each have their own separate HVAC systems for humidity control, temperature control, airflow and everything," NTI owner Trent Jacquin said. "It's gonna be quite the science."
The expansion is expected to cost around $4 million and will let NTI make products in-house.
"We're gonna add on a 1,500-square-foot kitchen to infuse edibles," Jacquin said.
In addition, the business can sell a valuable byproduct to other dispensaries.
"We're going to be using ethanol and CO2 extraction here, so that'll be able to get us what's called 'distillate,' the oil from the plant," Jacquin explained. That oil is used for infusing into other products.
Jacquin said the upgrades are expected to bring in $8-10 million in revenue from cultivating the plant alone, but that even more can be generated from these higher-profit exports. In turn, the sales will lead to tax benefits for the city.
"The municipalities take 3% of our sales also, and then it goes out to the Galesburg sales tax," he explained.
Production this technical means bringing in unique talent like Luke Liska, who currently works at NTI's Milan location.
"I have always known I wanted to get into this industry since I was pretty young actually," he said. "Right out of high school, I moved to Colorado with that intent."
NTI plans on opening at least 30 new jobs, bringing in local talent and others with experience in states where cannabis has been legal for longer than Illinois.
"People are always finding new ways to make things cleaner, faster, better, higher potency, higher terpene content, all of that," Liska said. "I think we're doing a great job of staying on the front end of that, and even kind of being creative and implementing our own things as well, which is awesome."
Mixing the talent together means the business and the community can make some green.
"They're going to be coming here, renting an apartment, maybe buying a house here, you know spending more money in Galesburg," Jacquin said.
Nature's Treatment is looking to finish the expansion by April 2024.