BOCA RATON, Fla., April 1, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – PRESS RELEASE – Jushi Holdings Inc. (CSE: JUSH) (OTCMKTS: JUSHF), a vertically integrated, multistate cannabis operator, announced the first phase of its previously announced expansion project at its Pennsylvania cultivation facility located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Pennsylvania Medical Solutions, LLC (PAMS), has entered into an amendment of its existing lease with Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (IIP), making available an additional $30 million in funding for the first phase of property development of the facility. The funding will be used to complete the buildout of the existing 89,000-square-foot building and an approximately 40,000-square-foot expansion of the facility for a total of 130,000 square feet. The first phase of the expansion, with an estimated budget of approximately $40 million, is expected to add approximately 26,000 square feet of canopy for a total of 45,000 square feet and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals.
PAMS is also in the design stage for the second phase of the planned expansion, which would add approximately 60,000 square feet to the building and increase total canopy to approximately 110,000 square feet. Jushi expects PAMS to begin the second phase of the expansion in the third quarter of 2021, with a revised preliminary budget between $25 million – $30 million and an estimated completion date of the second quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals. The estimated combined cost of the two phases of expansion has increased to $65 million – $70 million, from its prior preliminary total of $50 million, as Jushi has increased the size and scope of the proposed expansion. The facility is expected to be approximately 190,000 square feet after both phases of the buildout have been completed. In addition to these two contemplated phases of buildout, PAMS continues to assess and develop further expansion opportunities at the facility to meet the needs of patients and wholesale market demand, now and in the future.
“We are excited to officially commence the first phase of expansion at our subsidiary’s Pennsylvania grower-processor facility,” said Jim Cacioppo, CEO, chairman and founder of Jushi. “We continue to see strong growth in the Pennsylvania medical market and this expansion will allow PAMS to significantly increase its canopy space and production capacity to solidify availability of its award-winning, high-quality branded suite of products to both our 11 BEYOND / HELLO medical marijuana dispensaries as well as into the wholesale market across an approximately 100 medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the commonwealth. This expansion is also expected to create over 100 new jobs and generate additional tax dollars in the Scranton region. We appreciate the strong support of IIP as a long-term real estate capital partner, teaming with us to provide strategic real estate capital at an opportune time for our continued expansion in Pennsylvania.”
The facility produces high-quality, indoor grown flower, extracts and concentrates, and is strategically located within minutes of Interstate 81, Interstate 84 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, enabling efficient distribution to the 111 dispensaries currently operating across the commonwealth, including Jushi’s 11 operational BEYOND / HELLO dispensaries.