Benzinga | Oct 5, 2021 08:21AM EDT

Cresco Labs Opens $30M Cannabis Cultivation Facility In Marshall, Michigan's Former Campbell Soup Site

Vertically integrated cannabis company Cresco Labs Inc. (OTCQX:CRLBF) unveiled its first cultivation and processing facility in Michigan on Monday while celebrating the first harvest at its property in Marshall spanning 100,000 square feet.

Over the past three years, the Chicago-based company invested over $30 million in redeveloping the former Campbell's Soup manufacturing facility located at 210 Oliver Dr, Battle Creek Enquirer writes.

The company announced back in 2019 that it had pre-qualified for a cultivation and processing license by Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Medical Marijuana Licensing Board, on the heels of Michigan legalizing recreational marijuana. Michigan, where cannabis sales are soaring, is the 8th most populated state in the country with a population of nearly 10 million people.

"It was more of a community-focused initiative as we look at a retrofit like this, as we look at a building that sat dormant for almost 10 years, and we can bring it back to life," Charlie Bachtell Cresco Labs' CEO and co-founder said. "We couldn't be happier to be here today to bring the Cresco mission of the normalization and professionalization of cannabis to Marshall and Michigan as a whole."

The facility currently has more than 60 employees at the location and expects to add 110 additional jobs in cultivation and manufacturing in the region by the year-end.

In September, Cresco completed its previously announced acquisition of Cultivate for $90 million. The deal boosted Cresco's cultivation capacities by roughly 42,000 square feet of active flowering canopy, as well as its retail footprint by adding three operational dispensaries in Leicester, Framingham and Worcester.

Shortly after, the company inked a definitive agreement to acquire three operational Cure Penn dispensaries in Lancaster, Phoenixville and Philadelphia, PA. The transaction is expected to close in the last three months of 2021.

On Friday, the multistate cannabis operator announced its exiting agreements under which it has served as the exclusive distributor of certain third-party branded products in California.

Price Action

Cresco's shares traded 6.16% lower at $8.4 per share at the time of writing after the market close on Monday.

Photo: Courtesy of Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash