Cannabis Retailing and Retail Real Estate

On March 18, 2022, I presented “Cannabis Retailing and Retail Real Estate” at the International Council of Shopping Centers' (“ICSC”) Law Symposium.

ICSC, the nation’s premier commercial real estate industry trade organization, promotes and elevates marketplaces and spaces where people shop, dine, work, play and gather. Zoning, financing, leasing, constructing, fixturing, securing, insuring and banking are among the issues impacting cannabis retailing real estate.

I had a terrific time at this robust and well attended event reflecting both cannabis mainstream acceptance and the thirst for insight into how to lease and fund compliant and profitable retail cannabis space.

My presentation encompassed cannabis sales as part of a retail real estate development (i.e., the regulatory environment, licensed/legal uses, zoning and land use restrictions), risk management and insurance (i.e., title insurance issues, heightened risks imposed by Cannabis retail operations, factors affecting premiums), banking and financing issues (i.e., cannabis industry real estate investment trusts, real estate private equity and lending opportunities, sale leaseback transactions, equipment leasing and other financing strategies), landlord/tenant issues (legality of lease covenants, power, water, HVAC systems requirements, tenant mix, concerns for indoor cultivators and manufacturers/processors).