Kewanee stands to gain dozens of new jobs, following two actions by the City Council Tuesday.

The council approved a special use permit allowing a cannabis growing facility in the city industrial park at the southeast corner of Cole Street and Railroad Avenue; and a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement for a plant for manufacturing athletic playing surfaces in a long-vacant building at 1516 Burlington Avenue.

The petition for the permit for the cannabis facility was filed by HVN Capital, the company that plans to establish a cannabis dispensary in the former Broken Chimney building at 618 Tenney St.

According to the minutes of the Planning Commission meeting where the petition was approved, city Community Development Director Keith Edwards contacted other communities that have similar facilities.

“He has heard nothing negative from the officials in those areas,” the minutes said.

The minutes also said the grow facility will be far enough from the Life Skills Re-Entry Center to comply with state laws.

At the meeting, commission member Joel Hasse noted that other businesses have been looking into locating in the industrial park, and asked if there would be sufficient space for them after the grow facility is built.

City Manager Gary Bradley said at the meeting that three other businesses have expressed interest in the area, and the grow facility “would not eliminate anyone else from using the space,” according to the minutes.

Chad Anderson of HVN Capital told the commission that the grow facility would be about 50,000 square feet, the maximum size allowed by the state.

The permit was unanimously approved by the commission, and passed the City Council without discussion, also on a unanimous vote. No one from the audience spoke for or against the grow facility,

That was in contrast to the council’s approval two weeks ago of the special use permit for HVN’s Tenney Street dispensary, when a number of people from the audience spoke against the permit. Most of the them said they felt the dispensary would be too close to Wethersfield School District property.

The council approved that permit on a 3-2 vote.

After Tuesday’s council meeting, Anderson said he hopes the grow building can be enclosed by fall, so that interior work can continue through the winter and the grow operation can begin next year.

He said the facility would employ 50 to 70 people once the growing operation has been established, and that security there would be even stricter than that in the dispensary.

The TIF agreement was for a company called The Player’s Edge. Jim Anderson, representing the company, said The Player’s Edge manufactures outdoor courts for pickleball, basketball, tennis and other sports. 

The Kewanee operation is expected to employ to 10 to 12 people, Anderson said.

The TIF agreement will reimburse the company for the costs of building upgrades, up to $248,000.

The money will not be paid as a lump sum, but will be rebated to the company from any increase in property taxes the improvements will generate.