EASTHAMPTON — The property that has been the home of iconic ice cream eatery Tasty Top could be selling a very different kind of treat in the future.
Easthampton Advanced Research Park, LLC, a marijuana company managed by two Californians, has secured an option to buy the Northampton Street property. The company’s attorney, former Holyoke mayor Martin Dunn, declined to give details about the option.
The two managing members of the company are David Bouquillon, a founder and the president of Laulima Development in San Francisco, and Dave Potter, president of the Monterey County Cannabis Industry Association and the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Dunn said the fact that he and Potter have a background in municipal government is “just a happy coincidence.” And even though they currently call California home, both Bouquillon and Potter grew up in the Boston area.
Easthampton Advanced Research Park will be holding a community outreach meeting on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. in the West End event space in Eastworks. The event will give the public the opportunity to provide testimony to the company, and also learn about its plans for the property.
“This is really the first glimpse at what this project looks like,” said Jeff Bagg, Easthampton’s city planner.
Bouquillon said the meeting is in keeping with the guidelines laid out by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
“We’re prepared to make this investment,” said Bouquillon, “if the community wants us there.”
Traffic, security and how odors will be dealt with are some of the topics that the forum will cover, he said. When fully up and running, Bouquillon said that the facility should employ 25-40 people.
A shopping plaza was previously planned for the 34-acre Tasty Top property, which is owned by the Courtney family. Stop & Shop acquired a permit in 2010 to build a 40,900-square-foot supermarket and other retail space and weathered a drawn-out legal battle, but for reasons that were never made public, the company decided not to build. The permit expired in November.
Dunn said that while Easthampton Advanced Research Park is looking to be both a marijuana retailer and cultivator on the property, it wants to “focus on the research and development component as well.”
Bouquillon said that education is a big part of the research and development work he would like to see conducted at the research park, and said he would like to see universities and hospitals do their research there. And Bouquillon said that the federal government moving marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug would greatly aid this goal.
Bouquillon said the commonwealth’s regulatory approach to marijuana was one of the reasons he and Potter decided to invest here, and he criticized the approach California has taken.
“If you overtax it (marijuana), it will find its way to the black market,” he said. “And you can’t reverse it.”
He also cited its biotech, medical and educational resources as other reasons why they’re choosing to invest in Massachusetts. And Bouquillon said that the proximity to other states was how they settled on western Massachusetts.
Bouquillon cited Easthampton’s business-friendly climate as a reason why they chose it as the site of their business.
“It’s been a very positive experience for us,” said Bouquillon.
Currently, Easthampton has one recreational marijuana retailer in operation, INSA, and a cap of six special permits for recreational marijuana retailers. One of these special permits is held by INSA, while two others have been granted to The Verb is Herb and Herbology Group respectively, although they haven’t gotten their final licenses from the cannabis commission. Two other potential recreational retailers, Liberty and Apical, have signed host community agreements with the city, as have the three other companies.
Easthampton Advanced Research Park is now the sixth retailer active in Easthampton, and if all six get special permits, Easthampton will have reached its self-imposed legal limit for recreational marijuana retailers. There is no such limit, however, on recreational marijuana cultivation or manufacturing businesses in the city.
Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said the company has been in contact with her office and the planning department. And although she said she hasn’t drilled into it, she did say that she’s been interested in what she’s heard verbally so far.
“I’m looking forward to hearing more detail,” she said.
Bagg said the cultivation and research and development side of Easthampton Advanced Research Park interests him in terms of jobs, as more than 100 people work at INSA, and he has personally observed that a lot of the jobs there are attached to cultivation. He also noted that developing the site could provide significant new property tax revenue.
As for keeping the ice cream stand, Bouquillon said he hadn’t considered it, but declared that, “If the public wants it, absolutely.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.