Ever on the hunt for acquisitions, Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR +1.86%) announced a fresh one on Thursday. The company has closed a deal for an industrial facility spanning roughly 199,000 square feet in Athol, Massachusetts, for which it's paying around $26.8 million (exclusive of transaction costs).
The company, so far the only specialty cannabis property real estate investment trust (REIT) on the stock market, also said that it has a tenant. This is privately held marijuana company Ascend Wellness Holdings, which is occupying the property under a long-term, triple-net lease agreement.
Under the terms of their agreement, Innovative will also provide up to $22.2 million in reimbursement for Ascend to improve and renovate the property.
Image source: Getty Images.
Ascend will use it as a growth and processing facility, presumably to supply product to its large dispensary in downtown Boston. In January, the company received preliminary approval from the state to conduct retail sales from the five-story building. At the time, Ascend claimed that this outlet would be the biggest dispensary on the East Coast. According to Innovative, the store should open next January.
The deal marks the third collaboration between the two companies. Last summer, they entered into a similar arrangement for a smaller industrial facility in Michigan, and in December 2018, Innovative bought a 75,000 square foot property in Illinois that it leased to Ascend.
As for the Massachusetts property, Innovative said that Ascend should reap its first cannabis harvest there this month.
On Thursday, in contrast to the gains enjoyed by the broader stock market, Innovative's share price dipped by 0.2%.
