Staff
Columbia Care (OTCQX: CCHWF) sold two of its properties in New Jersey for $12.4 million to Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (IIP) (NYSE: IIPR). Columbia Care will then rent the two properties which include an industrial building comprising approximately 50,000 square feet and a retail location comprising approximately 4,000 square feet.
Columbia Care will continue to operate the retail property as a regulated medical-use cannabis dispensary and the industrial property as a regulated medical-use cannabis cultivation and processing facility. Columbia Care is expected to complete improvements to the industrial property and IIP has agreed to provide reimbursement of up to $1.6 million. This brings IIP’s total investment in the two properties to approximately $14.0 million if all the improvement money is reimbursed.
“Columbia Care is one of the preeminent cannabis operators in the United States, and we are thrilled to introduce them as a new tenant partner,” said Paul Smithers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. “As one of the largest cannabis operators, Columbia Care is dedicated to providing the highest quality products and services to patients and customers, and we look forward to supporting them as a long-term real estate capital partner in New Jersey, including providing the additional real estate capital for further enhancements to their cultivation and processing facility.”
Columbia Care in New Jersey
Columbia Care is one of only three operators licensed to dispense medical cannabis in the southern region of New Jersey. In June, the company announced the opening of a dispensary location and produced its first harvest this month at its cultivation and processing facility. New Jersey classified medical cannabis dispensaries as “essential,” allowing them to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic, while implementing additional safety and social distancing protocols to protect the health of patient customers and employees. Last month, the New Jersey Department of Health also enacted a waiver that allows licensed operators to provide home delivery of medical cannabis products to patients.
Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care said, “Partnering with IIP provides Columbia Care with access to nondilutive capital that offers flexibility and provides us with the ability to continue to build and expand our cultivation, manufacturing, and retail capabilities in the markets that matter most.”
The dispensary in Vineland NJ will be supported by the company’s 50,000 sq. ft. cultivation and manufacturing facility, which will supply both the dispensary as well as Columbia Care’s wholesale operations in the state. Adhering to both local and state guidelines for social distancing, patients have access to curbside and express pickup options as well as Columbia Care’s innovative Virtual.Care portal, providing the industry’s most complete virtual shopping experience.
As of July 20, 2020, IIP owned 61 properties located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, totaling approximately 4.5 million rentable square feet (including approximately 1.5 million rentable square feet under development/redevelopment), which were 99.2% leased (based on square footage) with a weighted-average remaining lease term of approximately 16.1 years. As of July 20, 2020, IIP had invested approximately $820.4 million in the aggregate (excluding transaction costs) and had committed an additional approximately $213.3 million to reimburse certain tenants and sellers for completion of construction and tenant improvements at IIP’s properties. .
