After state-wide recreational cannabis dispensary delays, Saratoga Springs is beginning to cash in.
Silver Therapeutics already has dispensaries in five northeastern states and, now, one in Saratoga Springs.
The city’s planning board has approved several other dispensary projects like High Peaks on Maple Avenue. Silver Therapeutics CFO Brendan McKee says he doesn’t mind the competition.
“When we opened our first store in Williamstown, Massachusetts we were serving a ton of Saratoga folks. They were commuting down and picking up. And so, we’ve always wanted to open locations in the communities that we were serving at our first location so, we’re just so grateful to be there and be open,” said McKee.
McKee adds that he and co-owner Josh Silver had been renting the property on Weibel Avenue for two years before finally opening the doors this month. He says opening a dispensary takes a lot of flexibility.
“If you think it’s going to cost you $200,000 I would set aside $400,000 maybe more. If you think it’s going to take you 6 months, I’d say, ‘hey listen, I would probably anticipate it taking 12 to 18 months, right? Because I think you just run into hurdles and often times it’s a moving target,” said McKee.
A May report ordered by New York Governor Kathy Hochul found the beleaguered Office of Cannabis Management had failed to effectively oversee the rollout of legal cannabis sales in the state.
Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus is just happy to see dispensaries open.
“I certainly would have thought New York State would have had their act together a lot longer of a time ago to get dispensaries in communities where they opted in like Saratoga did. But you gotta give credit to the entrepreneurs who have stuck with it and the fact that we have one now open is great for the summer tourism season. The reality is a percentage of our visitors come here expecting breweries, distilleries, wineries, and cannabis dispensaries and now we have at least one,” said Shimkus.
Democratic Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi says that year-to-date cannabis tax collections for the city is about $15,000.
“So, I think in the coming quarters we should get a much more accurate view of what kind of taxes can be estimate from these stores. I know Schenectady has had great tax collections because of their cannabis stores. I don’t have the numbers with me right now but our estimates of about $250,000 seems very reasonable to reach if it matches what Schenectady did,” said Sanghvi.
Sanghvi adds that the city receives 3% of cannabis sales revenue, much higher than other sources of sales taxes. She says the city needs revenue sources that will continue to expand alongside the city so that property owners don’t have to bear the brunt of growth.
“Most importantly, we only see this growing in the coming years as more stores open up, we will see greater revenue coming into the city. And as our city is growing in terms of all that we are doing, you know with the new fire station and hiring 16 new firefighters. All of that takes resources and we need to have a source of revenue that continues to pay for them,” said Sanghvi.
The Department of Public Works’ novel paid parking program, Sangvhi says, is another source of growing revenue. Since beginning in June, hourly paid parking in city lots has generated more than $80,000.
Silver Therapeutics’ grand opening is Friday at noon.
