Cannabis-growing company envisions operation at old ACH plant

What’s needed now is a building large enough to be transformed into a secure, high-volume indoor marijuana garden.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has approved 21 cultivation centers statewide to grow cannabis for adult use, including Revolution Cannabis, doing business as Ascend Illinois, in Barry. There also are smaller-scale craft grower licenses available, which is what Jacksonville-based Wyvern Botanicals was awarded, according to the agriculture department.

A craft grower can cultivate, dry, cure and package cannabis and may have up to 5,000 square feet of canopy space for plants in the flowering stage. There would be the possibility of expanding to 14,000 feet under the provisions of the state license.

That makes the former ACH Food Cos. facility at 1201 E. Morton Ave. ideal, according to Dorsey.

“We are looking to bring our operation to the city of Jacksonville,” he said. “We all have some roots here. We are looking to rehabilitate and retrofit the ACH property, to beautify that and bring sources of revenue and employment to Jacksonville.”

Part of that process is a request for a variance regarding residential easement, which would require a special-use designation. The Jacksonville Plan Commission will have a hearing on the request at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Municipal Building, 200 W. Douglas Ave.

The ACH plant opened in 1953 as Mrs. Tucker’s Foods. Over the years, it became Anderson, Clayton & Co., then Kraft Food Ingredients, AC Humko and, in 2000, ACH Food Cos. In 2007, ACH restructured its operations into a packaging facility and ended much of the food processing and production being done there before closing a year later and entering into a joint venture called Stratas Foods with Archer Daniels Midland Co. 

It closed in a few months and the building was put up for auction.

Jacksonville Realtor Mike Hayes owns the property on which Wyvern Botanicals would be located. He is not involved with the business but said he believes it would “be a great project for Jacksonville.”

“I bought that property when it came up for auction,” he said. “I stepped in because I wanted to have some control over what happens there because I wanted to make sure we had a good neighbor. I haven’t seen a lot of things that make sense to put there, but their proposal makes a lot of sense.”

Wyvern Botanicals would use about 56 of the 61 acres at the site. Hayes said there is plenty of room, with another 210,000 square feet available for growth.

Dorsey said one reason the ACH property was chosen, aside from its size, was the security measures the property already has in place.

“It makes it a very safe location,” he said.

Dorsey said the facility would maintain a low nuisance level with operations all taking place indoors under heavy security, limiting noise and smell pollution through a sophisticated system, and keeping low traffic in and out of the facility.

“Part of what we are doing is not only bringing taxes, job creation and local business collaboration but also utilizing local resources for a general contractor, employment and collaborating with local dispensaries to have a local, Jacksonville-grown product,” Dorsey told City Council members during presentations in November.

“Part of that scenario with the ACH property is that we have 56 acres … that we are looking at renewable energy resources to power our facility,” Dorsey said. “Inherently by doing that, we have an opportunity to give back some of those renewable processes and business contacts to the city of Jacksonville for other sustainable and renewable projects.”

City Attorney Dan Beard said the city’s zoning ordinance now requires a 1,500-foot setback from residential property for cannabis-growing facilities. Beard said the intention was to limit a dispensary or craft grow facility being placed near downtown or closer to residential areas in Jacksonville.

A setback is the minimum distance from a street or residence a building can be located. The ACH facility is within 295 feet of residential property.

The council is considering changing the setback to 250 feet. Beard told the council at its Nov. 28 meeting that the company was going to ask for an emergency clause so it could get started as soon as possible. Council could review the request at its Dec. 12 meeting.

Alderman Lori Oldenettel asked about the appearance of the hulking factory location, which those entering Jacksonville from the east from Interstate 72 pass by.

Dennis Werth, a partner with Dorsey, said through “paint, putty and glue” the group will beautify the property and make it look like a welcoming site.

“It will look better than it has been,” he said. “(I’ve) been a sales rep and come into town for 24 years and looked at that several times. Will probably reconstruct and paint the fence to give it a good look.”

If green-lighted, work on retrofitting the facility could start this month and it could open by summer.

Dorsey said from eight to 10 people would be hired locally for the initial staff of 15 to 20, but he expects that number to grow. The Barry facility employs about 425 people, but it was among the first 20 licenses, so is ahead of everyone, Werth said.

Recreational adult use of marijuana first was allowed in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2020, six years after cannabis use was approved for medical users in the state. Recreational-use marijuana sales this summer passed $3 billion, according to data from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in July that taxes collected from recreational marijuana sales jumped from $298 million the first year to $445 million in the last fiscal year. The amount going to municipalities in Illinois went from $82.8 million to $146 million during the same time, he said.

RELATED: Going, going … Property with long history in Jacksonville up for auction

RELATED: Cannabis firm plans major cultivation facility in Pike County

RELATED: Barry cannabis facility amping up for recreational sales

RELATED: Cannabis facility already plans to grow