Here’s a recap of the top stories for the week of February 20, 2025:
Virginia General Assembly bills to launch recreational marijuana advance
Reported by BizSense’s Jack Jacobs
This week, the General Assembly approved bills that would launch a recreational cannabis market in Virginia. The bills are the latest attempts to establish a legal retail market after the legalization of recreational use in 2021.
The state Senate and House of Delegates approved bills in separate votes on Tuesday that would establish a regulatory framework for the marijauranna market, including licensing regulations and taxation, among other things.
The Senate bill would allow recreational marijuana sales to start Jan. 1, 2027. The House bill would allow sales to start a couple months earlier, on Nov. 1, 2026.
Both bills propose a statewide limit of 350 licenses for recreational marijuana stores and five licenses for cultivation facilities, which wouldn’t exceed 35,000 square feet of canopy. These licenses would be issued prior to Jan. 1, 2028.
After those licensees are distributed, Virginia’s cannabis regulator — the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority — would determine how many retail and cultivation licenses would be made available.
Retail locations and manufactures would also be required to adhere to the state’s guidelines on square-footage, location, in-store sales, delivery, testing and more.
D.C.-based developers swing for another big project on Arthur Ashe Blvd.
Reported by BizSense’s Mike Platania
A pair of developers, Level 2 Development and SJG Properties, are planning a new 7-story, 325-unit mixed-use apartment building at 1207–1209 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd, replacing the aging ad studio Tilt Creative + Production buildings that have sat on the site since the 1940s.
The land’s existing zoning allows the new development to be built by-right and the new project will rise right next to developers’ newly completed building the Ace, a 295-unit apartment complex.
The D.C. companies have owned the 1.7-acre lot since 2021 and it purchased the property and the Ace’s site for nearly $13 million. A purchase that gave the company 3.3 acres in Richmond to work with.
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