With less than two weeks until marijuana retail licenses open, how many dispensary spots has NY secured?

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Under the Office of Cannabis Management’s conditional adult-use retail dispensary program, licensees must agree to locate in a storefront provided by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

DASNY tapped real estate giant CBRE in March to find and secure these locations under the program. A design/build team would then renovate those spots into turnkey dispensaries where CAURD licensees would run their businesses. The application period for that license, it was announced yesterday, opens in less than two weeks.

However, spokesman Jason Gough from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office told NY Cannabis Insider this week that “No locations have been secured as yet.”

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OCM has repeatedly said the agency expects the first retail dispensary to open by the end of the year. The fact that DASNY has yet to secure a single property for the CAURD program raises questions about that timeline, said Simon Malinowski, a real estate and cannabis attorney for the Harris Bricken law firm.

“If, in fact, they have not yet secured real estate, the timeline of commencing sales in fall of 2022 seems overly optimistic, given the challenges in both securing and then actually building out retail dispensaries in accordance with their own construction guidelines,” Malinowski said.

“We hope that the CCB and the OCM are able to meet the fall of ‘22 deadline, because everyone is looking forward to legal adult-use sales starting as soon as possible,” he said.

DASNY put out a request-for-proposals (RFP) in May for design/build contractors who would renovate the CBRE-secured storefronts. These contractors will handle all the permitting, licensing and other approvals in addition to designing and building the 3,000- to 5,000-square-foot dispensaries. The company or companies that win the contracts also have to install security systems that meet the state’s standards for cannabis retail outlets, and have to furnish and equip the spaces.

Hochul’s office announced the CAURD program in March to much fanfare from lawmakers and stakeholders who touted New York’s effort to grant the state’s first cannabis retail licenses to those most negatively impacted by marijuana prohibition.

According to eligibility requirements, successful applicants must be “justice-involved” (meaning they or a family member have been arrested for a marijuana crime while residing in New York), and have a history of operating a profitable business for at least two years, among other prerequisites.

The OCM announced yesterday that the license application process will open Aug. 25, and the Cannabis Control Board will meet publicly at noon on Monday (live stream it here).

Update: A spokesperson for the Governor’s office told NY Cannabis Insider the state is in active negotiations for prospective properties with people and groups including landlords, fund managers and investors.

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