CONNECTICUT: The Common Council has given the go-ahead for a medical marijuana producer to lease 15,000 square feet of a city-owned building.

At their regular meeting Monday, the council approved a lease with Greenbelt Management, which must still secure state licensing to before it can begin any growing operation. Greenbelt would be leasing space on the second floor of the Remington Rand Building at 180 Johnson St.

The measure passed 6-3 with Mary Bartolotta abstaining. Joseph Bibisi, Phil Pessina and Linda Salafia voted against the lease. Hope Kasper and Deborah Kleckowski were absent.

Jason Nickerson, principal partner of Greenbelt, told Middletown Patch that he was thrilled about the approval because he had been unsure how the council members would vote.

The council in July approved lease applications from an organic food delivery service and a microbrewery project to set up headquarters in the Remington Rand building. Karen Thiruvalam’s Sow Fresh Organics will begin operations as soon as the mom-and-pop organic-delivery crew can move out of their current home-based storefront. The other new tenant, Forest City Brewing, must complete the state permitting process now that it has a place to call home.

At its July meeting, the council also approved a grant to demolish the boiler building on the property and signed an agreement with Greenskies to install solar panels and a new roof and sell energy from the panels to the city.