Cannabis growing facility looks to open in I-Park

Joseph Villanova, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Nov. 5—MANCHESTER — A Hartford-based company has filed a special exception permit application to open a cannabis cultivation facility in the town's industrial park.

The applicant, RAD Holding Corp., is seeking approval to operate an indoor "micro-cultivator" growing facility at 82 Colonial Road, in the Manchester Business Park, on the corner of Progress Drive.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: RAD Holding Corp. is seeking approval to open an indoor cannabis cultivation facility at 82 Colonial Road, in the Manchester Business Park, on the corner of Progress Drive.

WHEN: The developer submitted its application to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday. A public hearing is required, but no date has been set, as yet.

RAD Holding Corp. and its owners have addresses in Hartford and Suffield, and received a license through the state's social equity lottery in August.

Companies can apply for this lottery if the owners are below a certain income threshold. Applicants must also have been a resident of an area disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition for a specific period.

A town staff review of the application is scheduled for Nov. 22. Special exception permits require a public hearing to be held by the Planning and Zoning Commission, which has not yet been scheduled.

Director of Planning and Economic Development Gary Anderson gave an update on recreational cannabis in Manchester at a Board of Directors meeting Tuesday night, where he said that the application is the town's first for a commercial cannabis growing production facility.

Anderson said two applications for recreational retail facilities have been received and approved since the PZC adopted regulations for sales facilities in December 2021.

"Both those businesses have licenses in hand, so it's very likely we will see those businesses open in the coming months," Anderson said.

Fine Fettle Dispensary, approved in June, will open a recreational cannabis retail shop in one of three spaces in a roughly 4,900-square-foot retail building at 91 Hale Road, a small strip of storefronts that is also occupied by Leslie's Pool Supplies.

CuraLeaf, approved in September, will renovate the former Friendly's restaurant building at 240 Buckland Road for use as a hybrid dispensary, selling cannabis products for both medical and recreational uses.

Anderson said that while the law originally restricted Manchester to a total of two retailers until at least 2024, revisions made in the last legislative session eliminated the cap.

Furthermore, the general sales tax would apply to cannabis sold in Connecticut, in addition to a 3% municipal tax that could be implemented without any action by the Board of Directors.

"The thing the board would act on is the allocation of those funds," Anderson said.

Anderson said the 3% tax on cannabis sales must be used for reinvestment into the community, on projects such as education, mental health and addiction, youth services, and neighborhood improvements.

"The idea is to connect it directly to communities who have been negatively impacted by the 'War on Drugs,'" Anderson said.

General Manager Steven Stephanou said the town plans to receive funds as part of a settlement from a national opioid lawsuit that could be tied in with funds acquired from the cannabis tax, as they have similar usage requirements.

Anderson said it would be difficult to estimate how much the town would see in tax revenue from cannabis sales, and that any number based on data from other states would be only a guess.

Joseph covers Manchester and Bolton for the Journal Inquirer.