SOUTHWICK – With special and building permits from the town in hand and the go-ahead from the Cannabis Control Commission, the town’s second cannabis retailer — Haven — will start work on repurposing the former Family Dollar on College Highway in the next week or so.

“We’re all set,” said Mark S. Dupuis, one of the owners of Haven, the town’s second permitted cannabis retailer, about getting the 8,300-square-foot building prepared for its customers.

“It’s been a long haul, but we’ll start framing in the next couple of weeks,” he said.

Haven, which operates under the corporate name Responsible and Compliant Southwick LLC, was one of two retailers offered an opportunity to open in town in September 2024. The other is Pioneer Valley Trading Co.

The retailer was approved for a provisional license by the CCC last July, before applying for and being approved for a special permit from the Planning Board and securing a building permit.

With those in hand, Dupuis said they submitted to the CCC the facility’s building plan for what is called an architectural review, which was approved the day before Christmas.

Dupuis said Monday that only about 2,000 square feet of the building will be used for its showroom, lobby and patient consultation.

He is “excited” about how the showroom will be appointed.

“It’s going to be pretty cool,” he said.

As for the retail operation, Dupuis said customers will be in for plenty of surprises.

“I don’t want to give them away just yet,” he said with a chuckle.

Dupuis and co-owner Brian Kuchachick are still planning to offer medical marijuana, but current CCC regulations on medical marijuana require that a dispensary selling it must also have a medical and cultivation license and grow operation, which is referred to as being vertically integrated.

In June, the House of Representatives adopted removing the cultivation requirement to be eligible for a medical marijuana license, which the state Senate also included as a provision in a separate bill it passed in November.

The two bills are now in the House and Senate conference committees to resolve the differences.

Offering medical marijuana is an attractive option for dispensaries because it is not taxed like retail marijuana, which is subject to a state sales tax of 6.25%, a state excise tax of 10.75%, and up to a 3% local sales tax. Southwick adopted the 3% tax.

In addition, the House and Senate agreed on a provision to restrict awarding medical marijuana licenses to only social equity applicants for three years, allowing the CCC to extend it if needed to ensure equity goals are met.

One of Haven’s principles is a verified social equity applicant.

Because of that, Dupuis said, Haven has also applied for a grant of $200,000 from the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund.

About 4,000 square feet in the rear of the building will be used for manufacturing and white labeling, which is packaging products for other cultivators. Dupuis said that this expands the dispensary’s selection for its customers.

The space will also include a restricted area of about 1,900 square feet that will include a vault and the manager’s office.

The only change on the building’s exterior will be the addition of a side door on the building’s south side.

Dupuis said Kuchachick recently became affiliated with a 100,000-square-foot grow operation, which will factor into the products Haven offers.

The business will operate under the California-based Haven, which has over a dozen retail operations in Southern California.

Dupuis, who has no connection to Mark A. Dupuis, the owner of the now-closed Heka dispensary in Westfield, and Kuchachick will be relying on the knowledge the parent company has developed over the last decade while operating medical and retail cannabis dispensaries.

The parent company will also handle the administrative side of the business, taking care of tax payments, accounting and legal services.