Fast-growing multistate cannabis operator Jushi Holdings said it will invest $50 million to expand its Pennsylvania cultivation and processing facility to meet increasing market demand.
The Florida-based MSO plans to expand the facility in Scranton from 90,000 square feet to more than 160,000 square feet, with the first phase to come online in mid-2021 and the entire project completed by the second quarter of 2022.
The expansion will focus on nearly tripling canopy space to 98,000 square feet.
San Diego-based Innovative Industrial Properties will partly finance the expansion project through an amended lease agreement between the parties, Jushi said in a news release.
The project, which is expected to create more than 100 jobs, is subject to certain milestones, approvals and permits.
“The medical cannabis market in Pennsylvania is rapidly growing and with our products in high demand, this investment will significantly expand our cultivation capacity and market share,” Jushi CEO and Chair Jim Cacioppo said in a statement.
Jushi operates eight Beyond/Hello retail dispensaries in Pennsylvania.
The company bought Vireo Health International’s cultivation facility in Pennsylvania earlier this year and recently expanded the facility’s indoor cultivation space.
Pennsylvania has a robust medical cannabis market and is poised to legalize adult use as soon as 2021 if it can overcome resistance by some key Republican lawmakers.
Pennsylvania is feeling pressure to legalize recreational marijuana sales for fiscal reasons and in wake of neighboring New Jersey voters legalizing adult use on Election Day.
