Cannabis dispensary proposed for ground-floor storefront in Portage Park storage facility

by BRIAN NADIG

A cannabis dispensary is being proposed for a ground-floor storefront in a Portage Park building whose main occupant is a self-storage facility.

The property is located at 3631-57 N. Central Ave. and 5547-54 W. Waveland Ave. The address of the dispensary would be 3645 N. Central Ave.

The property was rezoned in 2019 to accommodate a storage facility that includes storefronts for additional businesses. The planned development ordinance which governs the site’s zoning needs to be amended by the City Council to allow for a cannabis use, and then a required special use would be sought from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The zoning applicant is The 1937 Group Ltd., whose name refers to the year a law was created to regulate the drug.

“The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 laid the foundation for federal criminalization of marijuana, a common plant that had been long used for its medicinal properties.

“It was fueled by widespread racial discrimination against Mexican-Americans and Blacks and was instigated by a desperate need for funding by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics,” the group’s Web site states.

The company is headquartered in the South Shore neighborhood.

Under the proposal there would be armed security guards and 24-hour surveillance cameras. The approximately 4,000-square-foot dispensary would have about 22 employees.

Alderwoman Ruth Cruz (30th) plans to hold a community meeting on the proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, at Chopin Park.

Also in Portage Park, a dispensary is planned for a building at 5900 W. Irving Park Road in the 38th Ward. 

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