NETA Eyes Opening Marijuana Dispensary In Chestnut Hill

BROOKLINE, MA —New England Treatment Access could open a second space across from Chestnut Hill's The Street on Route 9 in a building once occupied by Boston College.

The new location on the border with Newton could be open by the end of next year, depending on the timing of approvals, NETA officials told the Select Board.

NETA attorney Jennifer Dopazo Gilbert told the Select Board Dec. 18 that the cannabis shop was eyeing the space to use for its medical marijuana dispensary and would keep the recreational retail store in Brookline Village on Washington Street and Route 9.

"That's the goal: To move medical to 1280 Boylston," Gilbert said, "It's a wonderful site for medical. Plenty of parking."

The proposed building on Route 9 would be a good site for serving medical patients, especially given the abundance of parking, Gilbert said.

"The idea behind the move is to provide greater access for our medical patients," NETA spokesperson Peter Brown told Patch. "We will also be able to be more efficient with our delivery service out of the new location."

In the meantime, NETA's architectural team is drawing up the plans, and they're doing a site survey.

"We’re completing some traffic studies to get the whole package together to submit to the town to begin the site plan review,"Gilbert said.

The company has begun to reach out to neighbors near 1280 Boylston St. and as soon as its application for preliminary site-plan review is complete it plans to hold a neighborhood meeting, most likely in late January.

Opening a dispensary in town will still need to take usual steps before it's a done deal: Once it finishes developing a site plan, it will need to submit that plan for review to the town, request special permitting, negotiate a Host Community Agreement with the select board and get approval from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.

NETA's Northampton marijuana shop was one of the first to sell recreational pot in the state in 2018. NETA Brookline opened in 2016 to sell medical marijuana and then in 2019 began to sell recreational cannabis. In August Sanctuary Medicinals was the second marijuana shop to open in town.

Previously:

• National Company Buys MA Marijuana Retailer NETA ...
• Smooth Rollout: Boston Area's First Pot Shop Opens ...

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.