From green to weed

Ex-Church Street bank could house cannabis facility

NEW HAVEN – Years ago, residents could walk through the column-lined entrance at 45 Church St. to cash a check at what then was Connecticut Savings Bank.

But the branch has long since closed, and the building has remained vacant. Now, it might have a second life, as a hybrid medical/recreational cannabis facility.

Pennsylvania resident Dharini Patel is seeking to open a medical cannabis dispensary with an adult-use recreational component at the site, according to an application filed last month with the City Plan Commission.

Built in 1906 in the classical revival style, the Church Street building has been empty for years. Though the city in 2015 floated turning the site into a cultural center, the plan never materialized.

Patel’s application says the dispensary would operate out of the building’s first floor. While the interior would be renovated, Patel would not alter any of the building’s historic features, according to the application.

A licensed chemist, Patel has experience in the cannabis industry, working as the project manager at Blu Pharms, a Maryland-based medical marijuana dispensary, per the application, which says she also is working to open a dispensary in New York.

Her plan is not the only cannabis dispensary proposal being considered by the City. Earlier this year, Massachusettsbased cannabis company Insa signed a 10-year lease on the former Long Wharf Theatre space.

The proposals follow the state’s 2021 decision to legalize adult-use cannabis. New Haven’s first recreational cannabis dispensary, Affinity Wellness, opened in January.

Meghan Friedmann / Hearst Connecticut Media The former Connecticut Savings Bank on Church Street in New Haven could become a cannabis facility serving medical and recreational users.