Innovative Industrial Properties Provides Additional $8M To Ascend Wellness Subsidiary

Cannabis-focused real estate company Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. IIPR said Monday it has entered into an amendment of a lease with a subsidiary of Ascend Wellness Holdings, providing an extra $8 million in funding.

The funding will support further development of Ascend Wellness Holdings’ cannabis processing and cultivation facilities at a property in Barry, Illinois.  

If the full amount of the additional funding is used the company’s total investment in the property will reach $33 million, IIP said in a statement. 

IIP initially purchased the Illinois property and signed a long-term lease with Ascend Wellness Holdings in December.

The two companies have cooperated before, as IIP already acquired and executed a lease with Ascend Wellness Holdings for its Michigan-based cannabis processing and cultivation facilities in July.

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“It is heartening to see the many significant steps that Illinois officials have taken to open the medical cannabis market for patients in need, and we are excited to support AWH in the enhancement of this facility to meet that demand,” IIP President and CEO Paul Smithers said in a statement. 

Ascend Wellness Holdings co-Founder and CEO Abner Kurtin said IIP has the "flexibility and reliability" to fund the cannabis company's real estate needs. 

“AWH is excited to be able to double our production in the Barry facility to meet the demands of the opening of the adult-use market next year. Combined with our four recreational dispensaries (under the new brand name Illinois Provisions), we expect to be the largest player in the southwestern region of the state.”

IIP shares were trading 2.48% higher at $85.37 at the time of publication Monday. 

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