Hartford Business Journal

10 Hartford Business Journal • January 14, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Spaces readies West Hartford co-working debut Q&A talks with Michael Ber- retta, vice president of network development at IWG, owner of co-working brands Spaces and Regus. Spaces is set to open a new co-work- ing location in West Hartford's popu- lar Blue Back Square in February. Why did you choose this location and what will the new space entail? West Hartford is a hub for estab- lished businesses and the town is currently seeing a rise in startups. Because of this, there is an increase in demand from businesses of all sizes looking for flexible working space. The Blue Back Square location (71 Raymond Road) was the ideal location for the Spaces Connecticut debut. The neighborhood combines top restau- rants and retailers with a thriving business community. At the Spaces West Hartford location, the private offices, dedicated desks, open-area business club, and fully equipped meeting rooms provide a wide variety of working scenarios. Members can utilize different work areas based on their evolving business needs. There's been a significant increase in co-working spaces in Greater Hart- ford. Why is this office trend so popu- lar right now? Are you worried about an oversaturation of the market? According to a recent survey from IWG, Spaces' parent company, 84 percent of U.S. respondents feel flexible work- ing helps them create a presence in new markets. The Blue Black Square Spaces location will help meet this demand. The co-working industry is experi- encing such growth right now mainly due to the plethora of benefits it offers companies, including: provid- ing businesses the ability to scale up or down in new markets; offering less commuting time to employees, which improves their work-life balance; and Michael Berretta Vice President of Network Development, IWG FOCUS: Real Estate By Joe Cooper jcooper@hartfordbusiness.com L itchfield County this spring will debut its first-ever medical marijuana dispensary in Torrington, about five years after city officials amended a key zoning regulation allowing local distribution of the drug. Shortly after Connecticut legalized medical marijuana sales in 2012, Tor- rington created dispensary overlay zones allowing the retail clinics. The city's aim was simple: shorten com- mutes for thousands of local patients to access cannabis. Those regulations piqued the interest of myriad entrepreneurs who wanted to open a dispensary; four received local zoning approval, and one was recently granted rights to open a facility by the state Department of Consumer Protec- tion, which regulates the industry. Torrington's willingness to host a medical marijuana dispensary is no longer a unique story in Connecticut. Many cities and towns have come to accept, or even embrace the industry, implementing new zoning rules in re- cent years that allow for dispensaries and production facilities to help serve the 30,700-plus patients registered in Connecticut's medical marijuana program. That heightened interest was reflected in the record number of applications — 76 — DCP received during its latest so- licitation for new dispensary operators. The agency in December approved li- censes for healthcare entrepreneurs to open nine new dispensaries across the state, including in Newington, Meriden, New Haven and Stamford, which will double the industry's footprint. By comparison, in 2016, DCP re- ceived just 19 applications and granted three licenses. Medical marijuana in Connecticut was at one time, arguably, more contro- versial than it is today, with residents in many communities early on wring- ing their hands at planning and zoning meetings about the potential for dispen- saries to bring crime, influence children and teens, and create other liabilities. As the program matures into its fifth year, some attitudes appear to have changed, mirroring a national shift in public opinion, perhaps be- cause there's not much evidence of those concerns having come to pass. In fact, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, last year said medi- cal marijuana dispensaries, which are equipped in Connecticut with state-man- dated security systems, are not linked to an increased rate of violent crime. Some local pot entrepreneurs say their facilities actually bring increased safety because of the security mea- sures required by the state. That's translated to a less contentious local-approvals process in some com- munities. Several newly minted dispen- sary owners interviewed by Hartford Business Journal reported little trouble winning permitting and zoning approv- als. Others did report some pushback. In recent years, officials in several municipalities — including Avon, Stamford, Westport, Milford, Old Saybrook, Winsted and Newtown — either approved applications for medi- Continued on page 12 >> Continued on page 12 >> Welcome Mat Growing demand, community acceptance boost CT's medical marijuana program Tim Tamborrino, co-founder of Bluepoint Wellness of Connecticut, is opening a second medical marijuana dispensary in Westport after debuting his first clinic in Branford in 2014. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED

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