As Norwalk drive-thru Cannabis shop is built, Shangra-La lends space for I-95 overpass rebuild
Shangri-La to Open Norwalk's First Drive-Thru Cannabis Dispensary by Year-End.
With construction on schedule, a drive-thru recreational cannabis dispensary at 75 Connecticut Ave. should open before the end of the year, Shangri-La's president and project manager said.
The project is moving along even as Shangri-La Dispensaries lends some space at the northern end of its construction site to the Connecticut Department of Transportation as it rebuilds the Fairfield Avenue bridge torn down after it was consumed by a massive blaze in May.
DOT is using the space “for storage of equipment and materials while the Fairfield Avenue Bridge is being constructed,” per DOT spokesperson Samaia Hernandez. “This temporary arrangement was previously negotiated between the property owner and the Division of Rights of Way.”
Zack Mecier, Shangri-La project manager, said his company is “more than happy to help” in the rebuilding efforts.
Mecier said DOT’s staging area has not impeded Shangri-La’s construction. The site’s excavation is complete, passed its foundation inspection, and is moving on to pouring slab to erect the core and shell of the building, Mecier said.
About 10 construction workers are on site each day; when the internal construction begins, building two stories of roughly 4,000 square feet each, that headcount will be closer to 15, Mecier said.
Mecier expects the construction to be complete in time to get a certificate of occupancy from the city and final approvals from the state Department of Consumer Protection by Thanksgiving — leaving ample time to open before the year’s end.
Once open, this drive-thru location will be Shangri-La’s second in both Norwalk and the state of Connecticut. It will make three total dispensaries in the city — the maximum allowed by Norwalk’s regulations.
Shangri-La CEO Nevil Patel thought last year that his company’s 430 Main Ave. dispensary would be Norwalk’s first when he anticipated launching the location by December 2023. The location actually opened four months later, in April.
The city’s first dispensary was a Fine Fettle location at 191 Main St., which opened just under a month before its competitor in late March.
Shangri-La also has dispensaries in its pipeline in East Hartford, Plainville, Waterbury, and an undetermined fourth location.
The company also looks to strengthen its share of the Connecticut market by opening a Stratford cultivation site, which Shangri-La President Kepal Patel said is going well.
“It's going to take a little (time),” Kepal Patel said. “It's gonna go until next year.”
