JOLIET — In recent years, Joliet’s homeless population often congregated in the vicinity of West Jefferson Street and Hammes Avenue. Next week, the city of Joliet will review a proposal to bring an adult marijuana dispensary to that general area. The proposed cannabis dispensary at 2121 West Jefferson Street aims to attract 300 to 700 customers every day, according to city documents.

Joliet’s zoning board will discuss the proposed special use permit for the project at next Thursday’s meeting, set for 2 p.m. at City Hall. The zoning board consists of Ralph Bias, Ed Hennessy, Bob Nachtrieb, Jim Riggs, Brigette Roehr and Debbie Radakovich.

The dispensary would take over the former NAPA Auto Parts store next to the Walgreens. Before the marijuana store can celebrate its ribbon-cutting event, the “Bisa Lina Cannabis Dispensary” must obtain that special use permit from the Joliet City Council.

According to the city of Joliet memos:

Veltiste Wellness is a vertically integrated cannabis company focused on health and wellness. If the special use permit is approved, the building at 2121 W. Jefferson Street will be leased to Veltiste who will operate the dispensary under the name “Bisa Lina Cannabis Dispensary.”

Veltiste Wellness operates a dispensary under this name in Carol Stream. Their cultivation operations are based out of Battle Creek, Michigan. Veltiste operations team and partners have operated and consulted with many dispensaries in several markets including California, Oklahoma, and Michigan.

According to Bisa Lina, the new Joliet dispensary would be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The company aims to employ around 20 people, with four to seven employees onsite at any given time, including one security guard.

Bisa Lina expects to serve 300 to 700 customers per day at this location, with peak periods between 4 and 8 p.m. and with Thursday and Friday being the highest-traffic days.

During peak hours, the new Joliet dispensary expects to serve 50 to 80 customers per hour. During off-peak hours, 15 to 40 customers per hour are expected. If there is ever a need to implement a waiting line, there is an adequate area for line queuing on the sidewalk that extends along the east side of the building.

According to Bisa Lina, many of the customers at other facilities pre-order their products, limiting the time they spend in the store. Bisa Lina estimates that the average visit by a customer will be less than ten minutes.