Marijuana dispensary likely coming to Dixon’s Gateway Project

DIXON – The developer of the Gateway Development project on South Galena Avenue is in negotiations with a business that wants to bring a marijuana dispensary to Dixon.

Terms of the lease still are being worked out, Brett Paul with Xsite Real Estate said Wednesday.

He declined to name the dispensary owners until everything is official, a process he said is likely to take at least three more weeks.

In the meantime, Paul confirmed that a Jersey Mike’s sub shop, a T-Mobile sales office and an LA Nails salon are the newest businesses to announce their plans to open at Gateway. A new building will be built that will house all four, Paul said.

Xsite of Burr Ridge and Walsh Partners of Elmhurst are bringing the major commercial development, featuring a dozen buildings, to the 27-acre site along South Galena, across from Walmart between Keul and Bloody Gulch roads.

The Dixon Family YMCA is building a 16,000-square foot daycare center at Gateway, which so far also is getting a Fairfield Inn by Marriott, a Casey’s General Store and a Chipotle restaurant.

That makes the project around half full of businesses they can announce now, Paul said, adding that the developers have enjoyed working in and with Dixon.

More land is available in the project area – 65 acres behind Walmart that already has city infrastructure – and “we would be interested in buying more, certainly,” should the need or the opportunity arise, he said.

The Gateway Project broke ground in April 2022; part of the Interstate-88 Corridor, it is expected to create more than 600 jobs and $1 million a year in new tax revenue. The city is kicking in $5.2 million in infrastructure work; $3 million of that will be paid for with grants.

Most of the work is done, paving the way for groundbreakings for the other buildings, which will be coming soon.

Since before recreational marijuana was officially legal – back in November 2019 – Dixon residents were told of a dispensary business called Freya that was interested in opening in the downtown.

However, Freya isn’t coming to Gateway – the company never won a state license, April Glosser, CEO of Thrive Market Intelligence management consulting agency, which represented the local owners, said Wednesday.

The new business also is not related to the owners of The Dispensary in Fulton, Paul said.