ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Rock Island is on the road to getting its first cannabis dispensary, right on the border of Iowa.
The Rock Island City Council agreed to start working with a developer on a site across from Bally's Quad Cities at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 26. It will take the next two months to finalize an agreement with the developer.
Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms said the city's excited to get the project started.
"Any time we can get new revenue coming in without having to continue to tax the existing people that are here, is great news for the city of Rock Island," Thoms said. "It shows that Rock Island is alive and strong and working on economic development."
The dispensary would bring property taxes, sales taxes and new jobs to the city. City council doesn't expect it to cost the city too much, either. The land off of Illinois Route 94 was donated to the city.
But that's not the only project City Council approved. The same developer wants to put a beverage distribution center where the former Campbell Sports Complex sits.
The developer owns Nature's Treatment of Illinois and Stern Beverage Distribution Center in Milan. If the project goes through, the Milan locations would close.
News 8 spoke to one of those developers. He said the staff from the dispensary and beverage center in Milan would be moved to Rock Island. He also said the new facilities will be bigger than their Milan locations.
Even with all the excitement, Thoms said there's still a lot of work to be done.
"Don't count those chickens until they're hatched, as they say, but we're moving on at a pretty good pace," Thoms said.
He said the site across from the casino still needs to be inspected by engineers. The developer said more information will be shared about the projects on Tuesday.