Medical Marijuana Center Replaces Mattress Firm

JOLIET, IL - It's no secret that one of the running jokes in the Joliet area concerns the volume of Mattress Firm stores. At some busy intersections, you can find multiple stores tempting you to buy a new mattress. But now, one Mattress Firm store near the Louis Joliet Mall is going away forever. At Tuesday night's meeting, Joliet's City Council approved plans to open a medical marijuana dispensary at 2903 Colorado Ave.

The vote to approve the special use permit to allow the relocation of an existing medical marijuana dispensary was passed in an 8-0 vote.

Building history

The store on Colorado Avenue was built in 1999 as a Mattress Giant store. The adjacent parking lot has 27 spaces. The building of 6,600-square-feet was recently used as a Mattress Firm, but is now vacant. The property features a loading dock for deliveries, the city noted.

Marijuana in Illinois

In 2014, Illinois passed the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act known as the Medical Cannabis Act, which as a matter of state law, legalized the cultivation, transportation, sale, possession and use of medical marijuana pursuant to certain terms and restrictions, the city council memo states. In Joliet, a dispensary must meet certain criteria with the city in order to open.

Center lands in Joliet

In 2015, 3C Compassionate Care Center got a dispensary license from Illinois and the business has been operating in Joliet at 1627 Rock Creek Boulevard in the Rock Run Business Park, city documents show.

"The owners would like to relocate their facility to the subject site in order to be in a more accessible commercial area rather than in an industrial park," city of Joliet officials stated. "If approved, the operators would need to follow all regulation and relocation guidelines with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and be in good standing and operate in strict compliance" with the state laws governing the medical marijuana pilot program and Joliet's ordinances, documents indicate.

RELATED: Mattress Firm To Close 30 Illinois Stores

Image via Google Maps