A cannabis cultivation business has been proposed in the former Hartford Courant distribution warehouse on Wawarme Avenue, according to town records.
Arlanda Brantley, a principal of River Growers CT, is proposing to open a marijuana grow operation at 121 Wawarme Ave., Hartford. Brantley, and her attorney, Evan Seeman from Robinson+Cole, are requesting a special permit from the Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) to open the facility, pending licensing. The item will be introduced on the commission’s Aug. 23 agenda.
Brantley’s River Growers CT was one of 16 companies to have its social equity status approved by the Social Equity Council in July. The state Department of Consumer Protection is now doing final background checks on the business before potentially issuing a provisional license.
The property contains a large, 140,000-square-foot warehouse that was previously used by the Hartford Courant as a newspaper distribution center. That’s where Brantley is proposing the 128,000-square-foot grow operation.
If approved, the operational buildout will be completed in several phases. Phase one will consist of building approximately 30,000 square feet of cultivation space and 5,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Three to five additional phases will consist of 25,000 to 35,000 square feet of additional cultivation space over the following 24 months.
A 12,000 fleet vehicle facility also sits on the property to the south along East Elliot Street, but the proposed cannabis business won’t use that section of the parcel.
In the application, Seeman wrote that “River Growers is committed to providing jobs to members of the local community” and will focus on hiring and supporting those in re-entry programs.
Per the application, no changes are proposed to the site or exterior of the building.
Brantley has a long history of community activism in Waterbury. She has been an active member of the Waterbury NAACP, including having served as an adviser to the Waterbury Pride NAACP Youth Council. More recently, she founded BLACK WOMEN United Waterbury, a group dedicated to uniting women and empowering, educating, motivating, elevating and encouraging fitness, health and wellness.
The Hartford Courant’s former distribution and insertion warehouse sold for $2.1 million in 2021, according to city records. The buyer was New Milford-based HMC Real Estate Partners, which invests in industrial properties in the Northeast.
In other cannabis-related items set for the PZC’s Aug. 23 agenda, entrepreneur Rita Castucci is proposing another cannabis cultivator business, Southend Harvest, at 722 Wethersfield Ave.
