Hartford Business Journal

16 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | August 1, 2022 Blossoming Opportunity With numerous cannabis businesses eyeing Hartford, city could become an industry hub By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com A fter more than a decade of living in Texas, Hartford native Mark Christie is moving back to the city to pursue his dream of opening a cannabis cultivation facility and creating jobs and opportunity for people who grew up in the same neighborhoods he did. Christie is among 16 social equity applicants recently chosen to move forward with plans to open a cannabis grow operation in the state. His company, FRC Holdings LLC, is looking at city-owned land on Homestead Avenue to build a new 50,000-square-foot cultivation facility. And he's not the only one targeting Hartford for his operations. While the recreational marijuana industry has yet to officially launch, at least a half-dozen business ventures are targeting Hartford for a range of operations, including dispensaries, grow facilities and even a cannabis campus, raising the prospect that the Capital City could become a hot spot for the emerging industry. "Once this thing kicks in, more than anywhere else in the state, I think Hartford is in the best position" to be a leader in the industry, Christie said. Of course, efforts to grow the industry also face potential roadblocks. The first recreational dispensary officially proposed in Hartford on Front Street, at 89 Arch St., has faced opposition from the Capital Region Development Authority, which has zoning power over the site. Frustrated, a partner in the proposed dispensary said publicly the business will locate in another city instead. 'Intentional and thoughtful' zoning Christie grew up in Hartford's Blue Hills neighborhood, a north end section of the city designated as an area disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. That leaves it open to social equity cannabis businesses. Christie went to Hampton University, a historically Black college in Virginia, to get his degree in finance before working as a commercial lender. After years in banking, he shifted toward his real dream of becoming an entrepreneur. "I had an idea that I wanted to change the sports management industry," Christie said. "I felt like the team approach to client management was much more effective than just having an individual agent." With that idea, Player's Choice International was born. Christie's Tiana Hercules was one of five Hartford residents to recently gain social equity status to move forward with plans to open a cannabis grow facility. HBJ FILE PHOTO sports management agency let clients keep more money in their pockets by helping them negotiate their own deals. His first big client was UConn great and NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen. "When Ray negotiated the $72 million deal (in 1999 with the Milwaukee Bucks) without the use of an agent, that was my concept put in play," Christie said. Christie eventually left the sports management field because he said it was taxing on his marriage and personal life; he's been pursuing other career opportunities since then. He's lived in Texas for 15 years, but now has plans to return to Hartford. "Legacy is really driving that decision," Christie said. "I'm a north end guy — it's not just talking about social equity, you've got to be about it." Christie said he wants young people in Hartford to be able to look at his story and see a man who grew up in their neighborhoods and made it big in business. Hartford City Councilwoman Tiana Hercules is also vying to open a grow facility and dispensary in Hartford. She was one of five Hartford residents to recently gain social equity status to move forward with plans to open a cultivation establishment. Hercules said Hartford's central location in the state and progressive Mark Christie

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