Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | April 18, 2022 | wbjournal.com Site of $300M Amazon distribution center in Charlton sells for $10M e 98-acre plot of land in Charlton due to become a construction site for a $300-million Amazon distribution center sold for $10 million on April 4. e Charlton selectboard in June heard plans for the parcel at 53 Sturbridge Road, which is mostly vacant land, to become the site of a 2.8-million- square-foot Amazon distribution center. e property was sold to USRE Patriot LLC, which is registered to the Texas address of USAA Real Estate, a real estate investment agency focused on technology-driven assets like life sciences, data centers, and e-commerce properties. It was sold by Kaszowski Family Realty Trust, which has been the owner since it was transferred to the trust in 1999 for $100. e property is assessed at $670,000 by the Town of Charlton assessors. e sale of the property is unlikely to alter the development plans at the site. e Amazon distribution center is being developed by Bluewater Property Group of Pennsylvania and New York, as well as Bay Colony Properties of Waltham. According to the June proposal to the Town, the facility includes a 634,000-square-foot footprint Work to do "We uncovered some harsh realities that prove there is more work to do to make UMass Memorial a more inclusive workplace." B R I E FS C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F V E R BAT I M Leshin global center "Naming a building on a college campus recog- nizes commitment to the university, to its mission and values, and to its community … Laurie Leshin, WPI's first woman president, has been a transformational leader." Jack Mollen, chair of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute board of trustees, on the decision to name the Laurie A. Leshin Global Project Center after the outgoing president. Pictured is Leshin. Retiring icon "I am very proud of our collective achievements and thankful to everyone whose creativity, vision, and hard work made them possible. The museum is in great shape and ready for a seamless and smooth transition to new leadership." Kent dur Russell, founding director of the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, on his decision to retire in May Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health in Worcester, about the organization's first-ever health equity report released in March Dudley dispensary blending cannabis and music to open in revitalized mill BY KATHERINE HAMILTON WBJ Staff Writer G reatest Hits Cannabis Co., a retail dispensary meshing cannabis and music, opened its flagship location at a 158-year-old mill in Dudley on April 12. e dispensary is the first of a planned retail cannabis brand, which owners Joseph Villatico and Rhett Jordan hope to eventually push throughout the East Coast. "My whole life, part of why I smoked cannabis and wanted to be involved in cannabis was because I had such a positive socialization with pot and music," said Jordan. "We wanted to take the corporate out of cannabis and bring the fun back in." e entrepreneurs' plan for restoring the bond between cannabis and music involves partnerships with local venues to create concert series, said Jordan, mentioning the Indian Ranch music venue in Webster as one partner. Greatest Hits has a large parking lot on its property, where the company plans to construct a stage and host a quarterly on-site concert for national touring acts. e 4,000-square-foot retail shop will soon be joined by 170,000 square feet of cultivation and manufacturing space, which is under construction. e dispensary is located at 35- 37 Chase Ave. inside a renovated mill, which had been used as coffin manufacturer during the Civil War, a paper mill, and, most recently, Draer's Sports Cafe. About 40 new employees have been onboarded for Greatest Hits' opening, and the full project is set to employ a total of 400. Jordan and Villatico, who is a Webster native, gained approval for the project in December 2020 under the name DMA Holdings. e company's expansion is already spreading, as facilities in Taunton and Lynn are planned to open before the end of the year. Jordan and Villatico have plenty of experience building a cannabis brand; Jordan founded Native Roots in Colorado back in 2009 when the industry was still getting started. "Coming from Colorado, I've watched this industry grow since 2009 when I started my business," Jordan said. "Aer seven years of establishing an industry in Massachusetts, I think the consumer needs to be taken care of." Native Roots now has 20 locations and, like Greatest Hits, is vertically integrated with manufacturing and cultivation components. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the shop's so opening was held April 12, with a grand opening scheduled in May. The Greatest Hits Cannabis Co. facility in Dudley will include a retail shop and 170,000 square feet of cultivation and manufacturing space. W A rendering of Amazon's proposed facility PHOTO | COURTESY OF GREATEST HITS CANNABIS CO.

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