Natural Healing Center cannabis dispensary hopes to be up and running in four to five months

The county, in a previous meeting held Oct. 1, approved an agreement with Woodlake-based Valley Pure, which plans to open a dispensary at the city’s railway depot.

Natural Healing Center recently purchased the old Bank of America building in the downtown D Street area and plans to remodel the longtime building, paving the way for Lemoore’s second cannabis dispensary. NHC has extensive experience in the cannabis industry. The business operates dispensaries in nearby San Luis Obispo County.

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It’s costing NHC, for starters, a $200,000 one-time licensing fee that will be paid to the city once the permit is issued. The payment is tied to the possible relocation of the existing skateboard park and splash pad.

The city is contemplating the idea of not relocating the skateboard park and splash pad, but if it does, both Valley Pure and NHC will each share the cost of relocation, up to $700,000.

“If we need to relocate the splash pad and skatepark, that donation ($200,000) would increase to $350,000 to cover their share of the cost of moving the skatepark,” said Lemoore City Manager Nathan Olson.

The approved development agreement also stipulates that NHC will pay five percent of gross sales to the city and on an annual basis, donate $24,000 to local charitable causes.

The city’s cannabis regulations allow one dispensary for every 12,000 residents, hence the two in the downtown area. NHC’s chief operating officer, Nick Andre, told The Leader recently that his organization, which runs dispensaries in Grover Beach, Morro Bay, and San Luis Obispo, is looking forward to setting up shop in Lemoore.

“We were really happy to see business owners in support,” he said. “They recognized the economic development it can bring to downtown.”

Andres said he expects his business to be operating in four to five months. “We are looking forward to working with the city, and we believe we’re going to bring a lot of benefits.” He added that he thinks Lemoore will be a successful market.