EAST DUBUQUE, Ill. — A planned cannabis dispensary in East Dubuque intends to break ground next month before opening in the new year.
Bridge City Collective is planning an Aug. 1 groundbreaking for its cannabis dispensary, which is poised to open in early 2025 at 122 Sinsinawa Avenue, according to Bridge City Collective President David Alport.
“We’re looking to be an anchor in downtown East Dubuque to really help revitalize the downtown core and spur economic activity,” Alport said.
In July 2022, the East Dubuque City Council approved a special use permit for Portland, Ore.-based UHCC Inc., doing business as Bridge City Collective, to construct an adult-use cannabis dispensary at 69 and 79 Sinsinawa Ave.
At the time, Bridge City Collective was leasing 69 and 79 Sinsinawa Ave. from Janvie Properties, owned by local residents Dave and Janie Sendt.
However, at a City Council meeting last year, project officials said engineers had encountered drainage problems with water runoff from the bluff behind those properties.
Officials with the business then hoped to purchase two vacant lots to the northwest of 69 and 79 Sinsinawa and construct the dispensary primarily on those properties.
Plans now call for the dispensary to be constructed at 122 Sinsinawa Ave, a vacant building which sits near the corner of Sinsinawa and First Street. The business will include an outdoor communal space with benches, trees and additional landscaping.
Alport said he was “not at liberty” to discuss the details of Bridge City Collective’s decision to move its planned location.
“It’s just a location that’s more suitable for us,” he said. “There’s now room for this nice public area for people to gather and hang out, it’s more centrally located downtown and there’s room for parking now.”
He also declined to say whether the company has purchased or is leasing the 122 Sinsinawa site, simply stating that Bridge City Collective is “in a position to stay there for a very long time.”
In October, City Council members heard that the business also would include a bakery and coffee shop featuring hemp-infused products. However, Alport said the bakery and coffee shop are no longer part of Bridge City Collective’s plans for the business.
He said the dispensary will focus on its wide range of cannabis offerings, including in-house flower, edibles, tinctures and topical products.
“It’s a mix of high-quality craft cannabis boutique offerings that will be unique to set ourselves apart from anyone else in the area,” Alport said. “This is really going to be a special place for the community.”
Alport said the business hopes to complete construction by the end of 2024 and open by the first quarter of 2025.
City Manager Bob Seitz said the city looks forward to working with Bridge City Collective.
“We’re excited about the possibility of getting a development downtown, particularly because it will remove some buildings that have become kind of an eyesore,” he said. “That investment, I think, will bring other investment and assist in the turnaround of that downtown area … that we’ve been working on for some time.”