Weed Shop on Track for Late Summer, Early Fall Opening

THC of Yelm’s building construction is rolling its way to completion.

“We’re doing pretty good on our timeline, really,” said Jeff Mahan, owner of the shop. “You know, I’m thinking about a late August/September opening hopefully. I mean, it all depends on how things go.”

The project is basically a rebuild from a garage that used to be a glass shop at one time, Mahan said. The structure on the top that looks like a second story is actually a fake wall parapet “to give it a commercial look.”

Mahan’s crew has already put in a new foundation and most of the framing is done, but the project on Vancil Road next to Rite Aid still has far to go. 

“We’ve got a lot of stuff to do still — we’ve got the siding and we’ve got to put a roof on this parapet to handle the water,” Mahan said. “Probably in the next month most of the building part will be done. We’ll be more working on the inside, putting display cases in, doing the landscaping, sidewalks, a parking lot and all that.” 

In addition, Mahan said he still has one more inspection from the liquor control board to pass, during which they will inspect his building and cameras before he can open. 

The project in itself has been trudging along for a little over a year now, Mahan said. That’s well before the construction began.

To start, he had to get a site plan approval, which gave him permission to build on the condition that he fulfill a list of 13 improvements on the parcel, improvements that the city requires of him by the time he finishes the project. Mahan’s site plan was approved June 21 of 2017.

The improvements that the city required included getting all the buildings on the site hooked up to City of Yelm sewage and water systems, installing a parking lot, doing some landscaping and ensuring that its stormwater runoff was to the standards set by the Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, among other conditions.

Next, Mahan had to hire an engineer and put together civil plans that proved he would be able to execute all the improvements required by the city. This was a lengthy process of going to many city council meetings and reviewing the plans, getting approval on each item the engineer drew up, Mahan said. The civil plans were approved April 17.

Once the civil plans were approved, all Mahan had to do was get the building permit, which was granted to him on April 24.

Mahan has two other shops already — THC of Olympia and THC of Lacey — but ultimately he wants the tax dollars of his newest business to support the communities closer to home. 

“I grew up in Rainier and I live in Yelm now,” Mahan said. “It is kind of like my hometown so I wanted a shop here from the start. Now I finally get to put one in.”

Earlier this year, Mahan described his soon-to-be building as an impending showpiece for Yelm. Now, as construction gets underway, he feels pretty much the same way.

“Hopefully the look of the building will set it apart,” Mahan said. “I think it’s going to be one of the nicest buildings in Yelm.”

Credit: www.yelmonline.com