With a tenant in place, the owner of the former Black Creek Outfitters property in the St. Johns Town Center area sold the building to an investor at a $2.4 million profit over a year.
VDM Orange Retail LLC of Orlando sold the building at 10051 Skinner Lake Drive on Sept. 1 to Sigma Development Co. Inc. for $5.4 million.
VDM Orange Retail paid $3 million for the property in September 2021.
Sigma Development’s mailing address is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The deed says it is a New York corporation.
Insa Jacksonville wants to lease and renovate the 13,910-square-foot building into a Florida flagship location for a cannabis dispensary.
The city is reviewing a permit application to renovate the building for Insa at an estimated $500,000.
Insa, founded in Massachusetts, says it offers premium cannabis in formats and functions “to help wind you up, calm you down, ease your ailments — and whatever you need in between.”
Black Creek Outfitters, a specialty outdoor retailer, closed early this year after 39 years in business in Orange Park and in Jacksonville.
Black Creek Outfitters opened in 1997 in what was then a relatively undeveloped part of Duval County along Butler Boulevard.
Joe Butler Sr. and his wife, Helen, sold the building and property Sept. 29, 2021, for $3 million to real estate investment company VDM Orange Retail LLC.
Insa expects to open in Jacksonville by year-end. “As soon as we are approved, we will start the transformation,” the company said in an email Aug 11.
Insa has four free-standing locations in its home state of Massachusetts. It has distribution through wholesale partners across that state and Pennsylvania.
By the end of 2022, Insa said it will open 16 new locations across Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
It opened a Tampa location Aug. 15.
Insa said 10 Florida dispensaries will open in 2022 in Cape Coral, Clearwater, Hudson, Jacksonville, Lake Placid, Largo, Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa and The Villages.
The St. Johns Town Center area, which is at Butler Boulevard and Interstate 295, provides easy access for its customers, it said.
Plans show the former Black Creek structure will be used for a dispensary department, classroom, delivery bay, warehouse, vault warehouse, self-order area, and other uses, including a kitchenette and break room.
Insa is working on plans to use Skinner Lake behind the building where Black Creek demonstrated products.
The almost 14,000-square-foot store “allows us to create more immersive experiences for our customers,” Insa said.
Insa said that unlike most dispensaries with products in cases along the perimeter or behind the cash wrap where customers pay, Insa’s retail experience will be more interactive.
“Displays will be on the retail floor so customers can directly engage with products to better learn about the ingredients, formats and benefits,” it said.
The company said state laws regulate product distribution. Medical marijuana is legal in Florida but with restrictions.
Insa said the product approval process in Florida is lengthy.
“We are still working through our Florida product profile,” it said.
Insa says that in Florida, it will focus on servicing the medical community in alignment with state regulations and will offer patients a one-stop shop for cannabis needs.
“Insa is focused on leading the field and advancing cannabis for everyone,” Insa co-founder Pete Gallagher said in a statement.
“We look forward to furthering education about cannabis, growing our community in Florida, and helping more people have better days more often.
Insa is named for two dominant strains — indica and sativa — of the plant.
