CannDev in New Jersey
New Jersey opened up for recreational retail cannabis licenses March 15, 2022. Take a look at our opt in map on this page to review which cities are currently allowing for cannabis retail in New Jersey.
CannDev has been hard at work identifying and securing compliant retail locations throughout the state. So far we have secured sites in Atlantic City, Jersey City, Somerset, Absecon, Delran, Elizabeth, and Mount Holly with more to come.
Our compliance team is actively tracking the state and continuously reaching out to cities to verify they have licenses available and are accepting new applications. This helps inform which cities are best to enter for ease of licensing, along with analyzing the areas with the most revenue potential. Such as cities near state borders or areas that have nearby cities that have opted out.
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Take a look at CannDev’s opt in map showing which municipalities allow for retail stores in New Jersey
So far about one quarter of New Jersey’s 400 cities opted into cannabis retail. Opt-ins will increase over time as the retail program rolls out and cities get their regulations together. Take a look at our opt in map on this page to review which cities are currently allowing for cannabis retail.
Applications opened at a state wide level in New Jersey March 15, 2022. Each city will have different timelines based on when they opt in to allow for cannabis retail.
Each city will decide how many licenses they will allow for. Sometimes there is no caps on licenses and having the best real estate location means you will have more access to customers. Other times it’s a competitive merit based process and with limited licenses means higher revenue potential for each store.
There are two licensing processes to chose between. Either an annual license (full license application), or a conditional license (slimmed down application).
Annual license (unpopular strategy) – does NOT get priority processing, and requires everything to be complete. Real Estate is required along with municipal approval in a form of resolution from the cities governing body you intend to operate in.
Conditional license (popular strategy) – DOES get priority processing, and does not require everything to be complete. Real Estate is not required, and municipal approval is not required at this stage.
Once a conditional license is received there is 120 days to submit a conversion application. However, the faster the better since conversion applications will also be processed on a first come first served basis. The best cities have caps on licenses which means groups that execute their conversion applications the quickest will be most likely to secure a license.
Which means real estate is key. Showing a city where you intend to operate will help obtain a form of resolution, plus having time to put together all the required architecture documents means a license is more likely.
Real estate will be required to be approved for a retail store in New Jersey. One must have all their documents together for a conversion application. This means architecture documents such as floor plans, site plans, security plan, etc.
Cities are going to verify your location meets the zoning and setback requirements. To get a city to provide a form of resolution this is done in multiple city meetings, typically weeks apart. All this is must be done before submitting a conversion application. So securing real estate early in the process is vital.
Fees are relatively low at the state level. New Dispensary: $200 Application Submission Fee / $800 Approval Fee / $10,000 Licensing fee upon award. Each city will have varying costs based on their requirements.
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