A Chicago-based medical marijuana business is investing $40 million to expand its cultivation and processing facility in Greene County.
The project, first approved by planning commissioners this spring, aims to create more than 140 new jobs within the next five years.
Cresco Labs has filed a permit for the first phase of the project, which will nearly triple the size of its plant in Yellow Springs. Cresco will build two new structures: a 24,000-square-foot processing facility and a nearly 71,000-square-foot building that will be used mainly for cultivation.
“We really felt that now was the time to not only reinvest in the facility, but to double down on Yellow Springs,” Christian Ficara, vice president of government affairs for Cresco Labs, said previously. “We’re keen on continuing our commitment of creating good local jobs.”
Cresco will complete the project over a five-year period. The full buildout will total nearly 145,000 square feet.
John Martin Corp., a Chicago-based construction and real estate development firm, is the construction manager. Axis Architecture, headquartered in Yellow Springs, is the architect.
In conjunction with the expansion, Cresco plans to gradually ramp up its workforce. As of May, the company employs 79 full-time workers in Yellow Springs with an average salary north of $40,000. That number should grow to 112 by the end of the fiscal year.
Under its current hiring target, Cresco hopes reach 220 employees at the plant by 2026.
“Within our five-year plan, we anticipate hiring over 140 people,” Ficara said.
The project should increase revenues for the village, too. Last year, Yellow Springs netted roughly $1.2 million in tax receipts from Cresco. That number should reach $2.4 million in 2021, and Cresco anticipates it will eclipse $8 million by 2023.
That’s primarily a function of sales growth, Ficara said. Cresco said its Yellow Springs plant should generate between $57 million and $95 million in annual sales by 2023 — up from a projected $16 million this year.
“As the market grows, we expect our wholesale production to be a major sales driver for us, which ultimately generates millions of dollars in tax revenue,” Ficara said.
Once the first phase is completed, Cresco will begin the second phase, which involves remodeling the existing building to improve operational efficiency.
Cresco’s 50,000-square-foot Yellow Springs plant was built in 2017. It has generated more than $7.6 million in sales since the first quarter of last year.
Cresco was founded in 2013 and employs more than 2,300 people across its footprint. The company bills itself as one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the U.S., reporting $476 million in revenue in 2020.
Cresco operates 18 cultivation and production facilities in 10 states. More than 920 dispensaries stock its products, with include brands like Cresco, Good News, High Supply, Mindy’s, Reserve, Remedi, Wonder Wellness Co., Sunnyside and FloraCal Farms.
