Columbus Cannabis Building Fetches Record $4.1M From Out-of-State Buyer

A downtown Columbus building that houses a marijuana store has changed hands for a record sum, and the buyer comes from outside Ohio. According to the report, an unnamed real estate investor paid $4.1 million for the large property, which is home to a multistate operator, or MSO. The deal is notable on a couple of fronts. First is the price itself, which was described as a record for a sale of this kind in the state. Second is the identity of the buyer, or rather what is known about it. The investor has not been named publicly, but it is based out of state, which suggests that outside money is paying attention to Ohio's cannabis real estate. The sale also points to how property is becoming its own corner of the cannabis business. Dispensaries and other plant-touching operations can have a hard time finding landlords and financing, so buildings that already host licensed tenants can be attractive to investors who want a steady, established occupant. In a deal like this, the investor owns the real estate while the operator continues to run the store. Ohio's legal market has been growing, and a downtown Columbus address puts this property in one of the state's most visible urban areas. A seven-figure purchase suggests that at least some buyers see lasting value in locations that are already set up for cannabis retail. It is worth keeping in mind that the building sale is a real estate transaction rather than a sale of the cannabis business itself, so the MSO inside is a tenant in the story rather than the seller. Still, the record price offers a data point for property owners, operators, and investors who are trying to gauge how much licensed cannabis locations are worth in Ohio and what kind of capital is willing to back them.