NEWTON, Mass. and NEW BEDFORD, Mass., Dec. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An effective collaboration between MariMed Inc., (OTCQB:MRMD) and the City of New Bedford on MariMed’s purchase of a 137,500 sq. ft. industrial property on 17 acres at 167 John Vertente Blvd. in the New Bedford Industrial Park achieved a remarkable success that brought significant benefits to multiple parties, and remains a noteworthy example of public-private partnership.
For its part, MariMed secured an ideal location for the operation of a state-of-the-art medical cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility. Likewise, the community benefitted not only from the retention of 100 existing jobs associated with an existing industrial tenant on the site, but also from adding another 50-100 jobs associated with MariMed client ARL Healthcare’s (ARL) new cultivation/manufacturing business in the facility.
As important, MariMed and the City successfully negotiated a Host Community Agreement, which ensured that MariMed’s state-licensing would receive a City endorsement, while the City was guaranteed long-term monetary benefits, including mitigation payments, tax revenues, and benefits to local vendors.
About the Project
In 2016, MariMed identified the John Vertente Boulevard property as an attractive location for the development of a medical marijuana cultivation operation. At that time, the building’s tenant, Aerovox, occupied half the facility. The substantial underutilization of the building had prompted the building’s owners to begin marketing the property to single tenants, raising the possibility that Aerovox would be required to relocate or cease its operations altogether.
MariMed decided to reach out to the administration of New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell to present both the business opportunity and inform the administration of the potential threat to the long-term viability of Aerovox. The City responded to the company’s overture favorably, with Mayor Mitchell encouraging MariMed, Aerovox, and the building’s owners to work towards a comprehensive solution that would work for all three private parties while also addressing city priorities.
After extensive discussions and due diligence exercises, the Mayor made the decision to provide MariMed’s client ARL Healthcare with a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Health supporting ARL’s cultivation/manufacturing business at the property subject to subsequent approval of the Hosting Community Agreement by the New Bedford City Council. This commitment from the Mayor and City Council ultimately proved instrumental. MariMed and Aerovox were able to proceed with negotiations on a lease allowing Aerovox to continue to occupy half the property, and MariMed reached an agreement on the sale of the property with the owners.
ARL Healthcare is currently moving forward with its plans to begin production of pure, organic cannabis flowers, and produce medical cannabis oils, tinctures and infused products including MariMed’s Kalm Fusion™ and Betty’s Eddies™ precision dosed cannabis branded products for distribution in its licensed dispensaries in other municipalities.
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said, “This deal was a win-win for all parties. Our goal from the beginning was to keep Aerovox here in New Bedford, create new jobs and bring other economic benefits to our city, and put in place a host agreement that served the interests of all our residents. We accomplished exactly what we set out to do.”
“We now have 100% occupancy of the facility with two first rate commercial tenants while sparing Aerovox from a costly relocation or closure – a benefit to both of our bottom lines,” noted Robert Fireman, MariMed CEO. “The City of New Bedford has been great to work with and we appreciate their efforts in facilitating our entry into the community. We’re happy to do our part in making New Bedford an even better place in which to work and live.”
“Aerovox management and employees are grateful to Mayor Mitchell, the New Bedford City Council and MariMed for initiating and supporting this cooperative effort and lifting a burden from Aerovox,” said Jim Faughnan, CEO of Aerovox. “We look forward to continuing operations in New Bedford.”
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About MariMed Inc.:
MariMed is an industry leader in the development and operation of state licensed regulatory compliant cannabis cultivation, production, and dispensary facilities in multiple states across the country. These facilities are models of excellence in horticultural principals, cannabis production, product development, and dispensary operations. MariMed is on the forefront of precision dosed branded products for the treatment of specific medical symptoms. MariMed currently distributes its branded products in select states and is expanding licensing and distribution to numerous additional states encompassing thousands of dispensaries. MariMed Inc., is one of the 17 top-performing public cannabis companies in the U.S. tracked on the U.S. Marijuana Index, (https://marijuanaindex.com/) and CannabIndex. For additional information, visit www.MarimedAdvisors.com
About ARL Healthcare,Inc.
ARL Healthcare, Inc., is a Massachusetts not for profit corporation that has been awarded a Registered Marijuana Dispensary (RMD License) by the State of Massachusetts. It will operate a cultivation and production manufacturing facility in New Bedford and dispensaries in Middleborough and Norwood, Massachusetts.
MariMed Contacts:
Business Development
Jon Levine, CFO, MariMed, Inc.
+1 844-244-0200
Investor Relations
Tyler Troup, Circadian Group
tyler@circadian-group.com
+1 (866) 950 8300
Media Relations
Julie Shepherd, Accentuate PR
Julie@accentuatepr.com
+1 847-275-3643
Forward Looking Statements:
This release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to MariMed Inc., that is based on the beliefs of MariMed Inc. management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events including estimates and projections about its business based on certain assumptions of its management, including those described in this Release. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including, among other factors, changes in demand for the Company's services and products, changes in the economic environment and changes in technology. Additional risk factors are included in the Company's public filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as "hoped," "anticipated," "believed," "planned, "estimated," "preparing," "potential," "expected" or words of a similar nature. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. None of the content of any of the websites of any other party referred to herein (even if a link is provided for your convenience) is incorporated into this release and the Company assumes no responsibility for any of such content.
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