Cape May County ended the 2023 Calendar Year with only one full-service Cannabis Retail Store, but before the end of January 2024, there are plans for two more to open in the Southernmost county in New Jersey.

A couple of weeks after the Woodbine Planning Board approved plans for a Marijuana Retail Outlet inside the Woodbine Municipal Airport Complex, another Municipal Planning Board is doing the same.  The Middle Township Planning Board has granted a Site Plan Waiver for a Cannabis Retail Store after Middle Township Insa, LLC. received a conditional license from the New Jersey Regulatory Commission.

Avalon Blvd and Route 9 Intersection in Middle Township, New Jersey
Photo from Google Maps
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The cannabis company INSA has locations in five states, their plan for Middle Township Insta is to open a new retail store at the corner of Route 9 and Avalon Boulevard where the Wawa used to be open almost 20 years ago. Most recently there was a Dermatology Center at the location in the Swainton town in Middle Township.

The Middle Township Planning Board set conditions for the retail use of the property as part of the Site Plan Waiver. They are requiring the new Cannabis Business to fix the property's Drainage Problem, which has led to flooding issues on the Route 9 side of the parking lot for decades.  Also, Middle Township Insa must fix the building's lighting structures so they comply with the Township Building Codes.

Corner of Route 9 and Avalon Boulevard in Swainton, New Jersey
Photo from Google Maps
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Even though a group of Middle Township residents who live around the property at the corner of Avalon Boulevard and Route 9 brought concerns about a Cannabis Retail Store opening in their neighborhood, the Planning Board still approved the Site Plan Waiver.

The one-mile radius around this three-way intersection has been a mixed business and residential area for decades.  Aside from the former Wawa turned Dermatology Treatment Center to become the Middle Township Insa Cannabis Retail store:

US Gas Station at corner of Avalon Boulevard and Route 9 in Middle Township, NJ
Photo from Google Maps
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*The Gas Station across the street has been a Texaco and Shell Gas Station, today is a US Gas and Mini-Mart

*Martindale's Auto Service Center, which can be seen from the Route 9 and Avalon Boulevard intersection, has been in business for at least 30 years

*Right behind where the Middle Township Insta will open its retail store is an ACME Supermarket that has been there for decades

*First Bank of Sea Isle City Branch and ATM has been across the street from Martindale's for a couple of decades

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Gallery Credit: Stephanie Gull