Streator to consider craft marijuana growing facility

A craft marijuana growing facility will be on the Streator City Council’s agenda Wednesday.

The Plan Commission recommended approval of a special use permit for Llerem LLC to operate a craft marijuana growing facility at 118 Iowa Ave., the former peanut butter factory.

Llerem is seeking only to grow marijuana, it would not be able to operate as a dispensary.

Llerem would use roughly 25,000 square feet at the south end of the facility. Llerem has been previously approved in Streator and by the state of Illinois for a marijuana growing facility at John and Joe’s, 1105 W. Main St. The company is developing a new viable plan for that site.

The company anticipates employing about 10 people and operating between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. everyday.

A craft grower is a smaller operation that cannot sell marijuana out of its own business. It can only sell to other growers and cultivation centers, which can then distribute to dispensaries. A craft grower may cultivate, dry, cure and package marijuana and perform other necessary activities to make it available for sale at a dispensing organization or use at a processor

The proposed site once operated as a peanut butter factory until it closed in January 2022. The facility had more than 50 employees at the time of its closure.

The Streator City Council meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, at City Hall, 204 S. Bloomington St.