Cannabis REIT closes on $40 million sale-leaseback in New Jersey

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Innovative Industrial Properties (IIP) acquired a marijuana property in New Jersey from Ascend Wellness for $35.4 million and secured a long-term lease with the company.

The San Diego-based real estate investment trust said it also agreed to provide up to $4.6 million to Ascend Wellness for making additional improvements to the 114,000-square-foot cultivation and processing facility.

That increases the total value of the sale-leaseback deal to $40 million.

New York-based Ascend Wellness is planning to build out the property to include a laboratory, kitchen and 150,000-square-feet of canopy space by the end of 2023.

New Jersey is expanding its medical cannabis program, and is expected to launch a recreational marijuana program in the coming months.

MJBizDaily has projected that adult-use sales will reach $2.1 billion by the fourth year of the program.

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IIP already owns and leases to Ascend Wellness three properties in Illinois, Massachusetts and Michigan, totaling $179.8 million in investments and commitments for tenant improvements.

The marijuana real estate company also owns three cultivation and processing facilities and one dispensary in New Jersey, representing a total investment of $90 million, counting commitments to tenant improvements.