New Bedford’s first cannabis dispensary nearing finish line — here's when to expect it

NEW BEDFORD — Like a Major League Baseball season, licensing a cannabis dispensary is more of a marathon than a sprint.

But the finish line for the city’s first recreational-marijuana dispensary is coming into view for Ascend, which is projected to break the tape this fall at 115 Coggeshall St.

Also in the running, and currently at a pace to cross the finish line closely after Ascend, is Beacon Compassion Inc., which is opening a medical marijuana dispensary at 366 Hathaway Road.

The Beacon dispensary will be doing business as UpTop, and while licensed for medical marijuana now, the company is seeking approval to sell recreational marijuana, as well.

Two more proposed dispensaries want to open in New Bedford but have some miles to go before they reap — Elevation Retail, which would sell recreational marijuana at a Phillips Road site, near the main entrance to the New Bedford Business Park, and Ember Gardens NBR-Ember Gardens NBP, which will sell recreational marijuana and marijuana products at 1 Nauset St.

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How the host community agreements work

Both firms have negotiated host community agreements with the mayor’s office that are before the City Council for approval, which is a necessary step in the approval process.

Host community agreements are required by the state Cannabis Control Commission and spell out terms between a marijuana-business applicant and the municipality. Communities negotiate approval benefits, including revenue and jobs, when developing an HCA.

Ascend’s HCA with New Bedford includes an initial $25,000 payment on opening, and 3% of gross retail sale revenue per year, as well as annual charitable contributions of $50,000 or 1 ½% of gross retail sales, whichever is greater, to New Bedford-based organizations that deliver substance abuse prevention and education programs in the city’s public school district.

Also, in any year in which gross sales reach $2,500,000, an additional charitable contribution of $50,000 will be made. Should gross sales reach $5,000,000, the additional charitable contribution is $100,000.

Ascend completed the HCA step in 2019, and was able to obtain unanimous Planning Board special permit approval last April.

What needs to happen for final license approval

Caitlin Fleishman is director of public affairs at parent company Ascend Wellness Holdings. She said construction to ready the existing building at 115 Coggeshall St. should be completed by mid-summer.

She said New Bedford police and fire departments will then conduct an inspection before Ascend can get a certification of occupancy. The Cannabis Control Commission will also have to do an on-site inspection before issuing final license approval.

“That will lead us to a fall opening,” she said.

She said Ascend Wellness Holdings or AWH “is a multi-state operator in industry terms.”

It has locations in Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and is poised to open in New York.

The New Bedford Ascend would be the company’s third location in Massachusetts, joining Ascend dispensaries in Newton and Boston. AWH also has a Massachusetts cultivation site in Athol.

Ascend New Bedford will employ about 20 people, she said.

Update on Beacon Compassion’s dispensary

Beacon Compassion’s UpTop dispensary at 366 Hathaway Road is going to be housed in a new 4,300-square-foot building. The former Wicks & Licks building was taken down to make way for the new structure.

Beacon has its host community agreement approval and Planning Board approval for medical marijuana and is working on getting OKs for recreational marijuana sales, as well.

Its initial medical-marijuana HCA dating to 2017 stipulates that Beacon will make annual payments to the city in an amount equal to 3.75% of gross sales. At a minimum, the city would receive $325,000 during the agreement’s first five years.

Peter D’Agostino, a Beacon consultant, said they’ve got their foundation permit, and have architectural review approval from the state Cannabis Control Commission. The next steps include final plan review by the New Bedford Dept. of Public Infrastructure and obtaining the building permit.

He said construction on the new building should take up to six months.

D’Agostino added they’ve received a provisional license from the Cannabis Control Commission for recreational-use sales. “So the final step in the process will be the special permit before the city” for recreational marijuana sales.

He said initial petitioners Stephen Angelo and Catherine Cametti were still part of the project but the current owners are Chad Wise and Ben Bodamer.

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Update on Elevation Retail

Andre Arzumanyan, president of Elevation Retail, said their HCA is before the City Council. Once it’s approved, they can get a provisional license from the state and file for the Planning Board special permit.

Elevation Retail’s proposed HCA, modeled on the HCAs already OK’d by the city, includes the following provisions:

Elevation will pay 3% of the gross retail sales of all marijuana and marijuana-infused products to the city; make annual contributions of $50,000 or 1 ½% of the facility’s gross sales, whichever is greater, to New Bedford-based non-profits or city-run organizations that provide substance abuse prevention and educational programs in the city public school district; favor local residents in hiring, and try to ensure that at least half are city residents; and give priority to local businesses and vendors for goods, services in construction, maintenance and operations and try to ensure that at least 30% of their total annual expenditures on vendors and/or contractors will be spent on vendors and/or contractors based in New Bedford.

The company will also host a community outreach meeting after getting HCA approval.

Arzumanyan said Elevation’s “first location is opening up, hopefully, at the end of spring in Norton, a quarter mile away from the Xfinity Center.”

Shane Hyde, Ember Gardens CEO, said his firm was also awaiting city HCA approval before proceeding with state licensing and filing for the Planning Board special permit.

They’re seeking licenses for both retail and manufacture, he said.

“In New Bedford we’re going to have a retail component and then a manufacturing kitchen, all at the same site. Half will be for adult-use recreational and the other half is going to be converted into a commercial kitchen for recreational manufacturing,” Hyde said.

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Update on Ember

Ember’s proposed HCA includes paying 3% of the gross retail sales of all marijuana and marijuana-infused products to the city for both the retail and manufacturing operations; as well as annual contributions from both of $150,000 or 1 ½% of the facility’s gross sales, whichever is greater, to New Bedford-based non-profits or city-run organizations that provide substance abuse prevention and educational programs in the city public school district. It would also require Ember to favor local residents in hiring, and try to ensure that at least 20% are city residents, as well as give priority to local businesses and vendors for goods, services in construction, maintenance and operations while trying to ensure that at least 20% of their total annual expenditures on vendors and/or contractors will be spent on vendors and/or contractors based in New Bedford.

Hyde said, “We hope to get the HCA soon. We would love to be open as soon as possible but we have to go through all the necessary steps, both with the state and the city.”

Ember hasn’t fully opened in the state yet, but has projects at differing stages in the process, including delivery in Middleboro, retail in Orleans, retail in Boston, and cultivation in Deerfield.

Hyde added that the retail dispensary in Orleans and Middleboro home delivery will probably be their first locations to open, sometime next year.

ARL Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of MariMed Inc., is actually New Bedford’s first cannabis business, and opened in 2020. It’s currently licensed for medical-marijuana cultivation at its site on John Vertente Boulevard, not retail sales. Through its HCA for medical marijuana cultivation and production, ARL has to pay the city at least $425,000 in the first five years.