Looking for a hint about the amount of money flowing through the legal marijuana business in Reno and Sparks? Blüm, the retail dispensary at 1085 South Virginia in Midtown, will be sold for $15 million, its owner announced a few days ago.
The deal includes the sale of the 7,700-square-foot building in which Blüm is located — but the real estate didn’t account for much of the transaction.
Terra Tech Corp., the California company that’s selling Blüm, said it’s getting $1.5 million for the building. The property sold for $1.2 million about four years ago.
That puts the value of the marijuana business — a business that opened only in January 2017 — at $13.5 million.
Most marijuana-related businesses in Nevada keep their finances secret, but Terra Tech Corp. is required to disclose its numbers to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission because its common stock is sold publicly.
On the other hand, the identity of the buyer of the Blüm store remains hidden behind Nevada’s corporate-disclosure laws. County documents show the store was purchased by Picksy Reno LLC, a company managed by Stacie Jackson of North Las Vegas. State records don’t provide much additional information about the buyer.
Terra Tech in February settled a lawsuit, for $6 million, with one of its co-owners, who alleged fraud. The company denied wrongdoing.
Derek Peterson, the chief executive officer of Terra Tech, said his company decided to sell its retail operations in Reno so it can use the money to strengthen its infrastructure and marketing operations in California. The company lost $14.6 million in the first six months of this year.
He said Terra Tech expects to wrap up the Blüm sale in about 90 days after state and local officials give their approval.
After selling the Reno store, Terra Tech will have four Blüm locations in Las Vegas and Oakland
