As major cannabis companies position themselves to take advantage of New York’s legalization of recreational marijuana, some small towns could soon see some significant economic growth.

But could one community’s cannabis-inspired success come at the expense of another?

“I’m all for it,” said Ben Beekman, an employee at Humble Gym in Ellenville, of the town of Wawarsing’s agreement with cannabis giant Cresco Labs.

Cresco plans to turn an eyesore off Route 209 that was once a knife factory into a facility that produces and sells recreational marijuana.

Ulster County Economic Development Director Tim Weidemann wrote in a statement the project will be “transformative” for the region.

He also said the Cresco project will bring 400 “high-paying” jobs to Ellenville, which is located in Wawarsing.

“We are in an area in need of jobs,” Beekman said during a marathon workout on the exercise bike. “I know I have a lot of friends and family who could use that.”

Amberly Campbell, publisher of local newspaper The Shawangunk Journal and cofounder of news site Kingston Wire, agreed the project will help transform Ellenville.

“In the next few years, Ellenville’s going to look so different,” she said, noting the Cresco project may help power other projects that are seeking approval from the town: a hotel renovation, a juice bar, a cafe and others.

“Those little businesses and medium-sized businesses on top of this massive large-scale business, all that in conjunction working together, that is where our renaissance is going to come from,” Campbell said.

Leaders of other communities in the state are concerned their districts might not benefit as much from the state’s estimated $7 billion recreational marijuana industry.

Senator Jeremy Cooney of the Rochester area said between 50 and 100 people in his district work for medical cannabis provider Columbia Care, which Cresco is in the process of purchasing.

Cooney said he is working with Columbia Care to try to make sure that despite any shakeup of the merger, those jobs remain in Rochester and do not get shifted to other places, like, say, Ellenville.

“We want to make sure that whatever this new marketplace ends up looking like, that they continue their responsibility to the people of this state and continue to provide high-paying jobs here in the city of Rochester,” Cooney said in a Zoom interview Wednesday.

The merger could take up to a year to obtain full approval from all levels of government, Cooney said.

Cresco expects it to take 18 months to build its Ellenville facility.