Middletown task force: ARPA guidance 'silent' on whether renovated property can host cannabis retailer

A Middletown ARPA task force discussed whether ARPA (SLFRF) funds used to renovate downtown property could later support a legal cannabis retail operation.

Claire, who spoke for the city's compliance advisers, said the city’s subaward agreement covered renovation and rehabilitation for commercial and residential use but did not limit what a renovated property could be used for afterward. "In the subaward agreement, there is no reference to anything outside of that for use of the property," Claire said, adding that "ARPA is silent" on post-renovation property use. She told the panel that local zoning, building codes and the city’s own approvals would therefore determine allowable uses.

Committee members pressed whether a later decision to use the renovated storefront as a cannabis dispensary would create a conflict with federal rules. One member reminded the panel that the original application approved by the council had been for a grocery store and said that the proposed use had since changed without returning to the committee. Claire said Treasury generally looks to what is written in the subrecipient agreement and the final SLFRF rule; because the agreement and the rule do not address post-renovation uses, Treasury would not issue a dispositive ruling on whether a renovated property may later host cannabis retail.

Brianna, a committee member, said she reviewed the subrecipient agreement and the memorandum of understanding and found they "specify retail spaces, but they do not specify in any of this document what type of retail space." The committee’s working view, echoed by the chair, was that no formal action was required at that meeting; members said they wanted final clarity from local permitting processes and the record of earlier approvals to be checked if the proposed use changes.

The panel also clarified the project address. Participants confirmed the renovation covered the former Woolworth building at 428 Main Street; plans discussed included ground-level retail or restaurant space and a rooftop patio/bar being created during redevelopment.

The task force took no formal vote on the later use of the renovated property and did not change the subrecipient agreement; members asked staff and counsel to continue review and to ensure any change in a project’s intended use be documented and routed appropriately for local approvals.