The CEO and founder of a Middletown-based homecare and behavioral health provider is leading a group seeking to open a recreational cannabis dispensary in downtown Hartford.
Derrick Gibbs, CEO of Change Incorporated, is part of a group seeking the city’s permission for a special permit to operate an adult-use cannabis retail store at 89 Arch St., formerly anchored by Blind Pig Pizza Co.
Gibbs and his partners are currently under contract to purchase the 2,500-square-foot building, which was put up for sale at the end of last year after Blind Pig Pizza closed.Â
The Planning & Zoning Commission plans to hold a public hearing on the proposal June 14.
In an interview Tuesday morning, Gibbs said his partners in the venture are Hartford residents. He declined to identify them.
He did say they’re applying for an adult-use cannabis retailer license as social equity applicants, but they won’t need to go through the lottery process, increasing the likelihood their business will get off the ground.Â
Adult-use retail applicants can bypass the lottery system by entering into equity joint ventures or social equity partnerships.Â
According to the Department of Consumer Protection, an equity joint venture is a business partnering with a licensed medical marijuana producer or dispensary that is at least 50% owned and controlled by someone who qualifies as a social equity applicant.
Similarly, a social equity partnership is a business that’s at least 65% owned and controlled by someone who qualifies as a social equity applicant and lives in a qualified disproportionately impacted area.
Existing medical companies can enter into these partnerships for reduced fees on their hybrid conversion licenses.
The 89 Arch St. building is next to Arch Street Tavern, which is a separately-owned property.
Gibbs, one of HBJ’s 40 Under 40 winners in 2016, founded Change Inc. in 2009. The Middletown-based company provides homecare and behavioral health services to the elderly and those with mental disabilities.
