Advice: Successful investing in the Illinois cannabis market starts with the right partner

As more investors consider the cannabis industry as a growth market, the need for cannabis cultivation facilities, processing centers and dispensaries is projected to rise to keep pace with demand.

With this growth will be the need for quick, cost-effective construction, and investors are likely to consider the remodeling option.

In particular, understand that the potential for profitability must be weighed against the intricacies of the burgeoning industry before investing.

There is an art and a science to converting raw materials of cannabis to finished products. Processing centers must be outfitted to master the product in all its forms and uses, and to meet all state regulations, and local fire and safety codes. This is best handled by a construction partner that is already working in the industry.

The best-suited partner, according to Andy Poticha, a principal with Northbrook's Cannabis Facility Construction, or CFC, is one that can provide the following:

• Construction management, security infrastructure, planning and permitting, and compliance support.

• Execution of the design and construction of a processing center, dispensary or cultivation facility - a challenge for most investors with no background in the cannabis industry.

• Capability to watch their client's back from a relationship standpoint, not just the transaction.

• Good listening, especially when it comes to the client's concerns while helping the client find the best solutions.

Poticha recommends that investors hire general contractors that will work on a fixed sum in lieu of a percentage of construction. This is especially important, he said, when it comes to working with a construction partner that will thoroughly manage the trade contractors to ensure they provide the best possible solutions, taking into account time and money.