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By Melinda Gwaltney
Everyone loves a good building rehab, especially when it lends itself so well to a retail dispensary. One of my favorite clients has a knack for purchasing questionable buildings, making incredible improvements and reopening as a destination dispensary.
In 2023, she came to me with an old bank building and asked me to reconfigure & design it. The exterior can only be described as neglected 80’s style with orange concrete, green tint windows and landscape that had not seen a professional in many years. Layers and layers of faux green marble. The interior had linoleum flooring, gray peeling paint and a popcorn drop ceiling.
However, there were tons of pros to the building and property that couldn’t be ignored. The customer drive up, the parking lot, the killer existing vault and its visibility/accessibility from the main street was excellent. Banks are usually a fairly easy transition to a dispensary.
A main challenge when redesigning a bank (or any institutional feeling space) is making it feel welcoming and warm. Entering a bank you definitely feel like you’re being watched and kept separate from the tellers and of course the cash. Dispensaries can feel the same way, but my client’s brand is all about community, socializing and natural elements. This location is in a Michigan town that is close to the lake, the college and a handful of resort towns. The vibe inside needed to match that energy and incorporate fresh colors and an open feel.
Refreshing the exterior was fairly straightforward. A full building repaint with neutral creme toned colors and adding an accent from her brand deck, a soft mid-tone teal. Exterior lighting was upgraded with a more modern style. Lots of lighting. Up and down as well as landscape and sidewalk accent lighting. The new fixtures are tall and sleek, up and down light on every concrete section of the front of the building. New herringbone sidewalks were added along with tall round bronze planters. The old landscape was pulled out and replaced with river rock and Michigan native plantings. Lit signage got a refresh with the help of LED and the crisp logo. The exterior feels fresh and clean but also welcoming and fun.
The interior was a little more challenging (and costly) to remodel because the flooring, walls and ceiling were in bad shape. After a consultation with the contractors it was decided to rip it all to the subfloor and studs and start over everywhere we could. The vault and other concrete walls remained but everything else was replaced. To help mitigate costs, the flooring became an epoxy coated concrete in a soft cream color and matte finish to match the exterior color scheme. This is a great choice for Michigan snow/slush/salt. Ultra durable, cleanable and looks great. The drop ceiling was removed and the mechanicals cleaned, exposed and painted with a fresh coat of noise reducing foam. With all the concrete and metal in the space, adding a noise reducer was needed.
We redesigned the entry to have a designated desk for the ID check employee and a small seating group for guests coming in from the cold. The customer restroom was moved to allow access from the reception area. We were able to do this without moving the original plumbing, which was also a huge cost savings.
The interior of the sales floor was super display friendly. Products are featured with natural wood risers and specialty lighting, so every product feels high quality. When merchandising a cannabis dispensary, it is important to have a convention to everything you place. A great example of a merchandising convention is the Apple store. Typically there is 1-2 of every product on display, and zero back stock on higher ticket items. This actually works very well for dispensaries too. Putting multiple back stock on a shelf behind the counter tends to look cluttered and disorganized. Which, of course, tends to de-value the item.
This brand also sells incredible amounts of t-shirts, hoodies and impulse items. Specialty fixtures were made for a full wall display. Customers are more likely to purchase if they can touch, feel and compare sizes easily so everything is human scaled with the highest profit margin items strategically placed in easy reach and sight.
Combining the vibe of the brand with the multi-use neighborhood and revamping the old bank look was a very successful project. When you’re shopping cannabis real estate, it is important to look beyond the current state of the building. Have a full grasp of what your budget is and how much time and energy you can dedicate to the design and construction aspect of the project. Turnkey locations are few, far between and usually come with a hefty price tag. Being able to renovate a current space will be more time consuming but ultimately you will get the exact look and feel you’re after.
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