THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
DANVILLE — With two cannabis dispensaries — Sunnyside and Seven Point — now open off Lynch Road in Danville, a third is again being proposed.
The new proposal by MariWorks LLC of Chicago targets what is now farmland south of Interstate 74, and would include development of a Casey’s truck stop and more at the site, in addition to the nuEra cannabis dispensary.
A year ago, MariWorks dropped its request before the Danville City Council for a special-use permit for a dispensary at 500 Eastgate Drive near Danville Metal Stamping, finding it was unlikely the council would override, via a supermajority, the Danville Area Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation against the permit.
The new request before the zoning commission asks it to consider development of land south of I-74 and west of Southgate Drive, that doesn’t have an address, to allow for a cannabis dispensary to be operated in the B-3 general business zoning district as part of a larger development.
The commission meets at 5:15 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 17 W. Main St.
Laura Jaramillo, one of the owners of the social-equity license for a cannabis dispensary in Vermilion County and who works with nuEra, said it’s been a long process in looking for a suitable site for them and the city.
This property, owned by the Mervis family’s Riverbend Development, fits within “the very limited area” where aldermen have allowed cannabis retail dispensaries, Jaramillo said.
The subject property is a portion of a total of 27.89 acres.
Two other projects proposed north of I-74 at the Lynch Road exit were voted down, one by MariWorks and another from a different group, due to concerns about oversaturation. But the city council in December voted against expanding the area where cannabis dispensaries could locate in the city.
“We spent a lot of time looking for an alternative site,” Jaramillo said. “We really focused on addressing some of the concerns we had heard from the city and council members.”
She said this new site limits any negative affects and brings additional development to the city.
She said that by going south of the interstate, it’s away also from the other two dispensaries, the Golden Nugget Danville casino and hotels.
As proposed, the dispensary would be part of a plaza with a gas station/truck stop, quick-service restaurant and other industrial uses, Jaramillo said.
She said the undeveloped land will need a lot of infrastructure.
“It does not have utilities right now,” she said, so it needs to have electrical service brought to the site, in addition to roads and full development to create all the necessary infrastructure for a truck stop. The dispensary would be a separate building.
“Casey’s has been looking to operate there for a while,” Jaramillo said. “The cost to develop just for their use is way too steep.”
But sharing the cost would make the project doable, she said.
Jaramillo added that the entire project will bring in a lot of jobs, investment and tax revenue.
“It will unlock a lot of positives,” she said.
She also said Michael Mervis has been great to work with on the project.
The cannabis dispensary would be collaborating under the nuEra brand, which has seven other dispensaries and a cultivation center in Illinois.
If the project receives approval from both the zoning commission and city council, a timeline on construction and opening would first depend on Ameren extending utilities to the site, Jaramillo said.
“Our hope is, this is a project in 2025,” Jaramillo said, saying more likely the middle of the year.
She said they were still figuring out all the logistics for the entire investment. Just getting electricity to the site is estimated at $800,000 to $1 million, she said, not factoring in the cost of any necessary roads, retention ponds or other construction.
“It’s a significant project investment,” Jaramillo said.
A letter of intent to purchase two 2-acre parcels of land for the dispensary and quick-service restaurant lists those costs at $175,000 each.
Mervis said his late father, Lou, bought the property in the area of the interstate at Southgate Drive to bring in more jobs to Danville.
“This is really supporting those jobs in Danville,” he said.
Vermilion Advantage said the area is missing a top gas station and a quick-service restaurant, he said, and having a restaurant there would help serve the workers at the nearby industries and business park who work various hours.
“Being able to develop that land and bring in a top-flight fueling station that will serve both cars and trucks would be wonderful,” he added.
He also said that with the entities working together on the utilities extension and splitting development costs, it makes the project possible.
“You have to have that type of synergy,” Michael Mervis said.
He said Casey’s will be an attractive neighbor for a quick service restaurant.
“I don’t think this is about a third dispensary in the area. You’ve already got two,” Michael Mervis said. “This isn’t going to add any further business in that area; maybe an increment increase.”
In other business, the commission will again consider a special-use permit for a vape retail shop. The request is by North Ridgeview LLC to operate the shop in the B-2 highway commercial zoning district at 2601-2605 N. Vermilion St.
