Cal Verde Naturals

Cal Verde Naturals, LLC. is a woman-owned cannabis company based in Massachusetts. CAC has collaborated with the Cal Verde team on multiple adult-use recreational dispensary conceptual designs and applications, as well as full construction drawing sets for two locations in the Boston suburbs. With a strong company ethos centered on destigmatizing cannabis use as alternative medicine, self-care, and healthy living, our team worked closely with the Owners to design an upscale boutique dispensary prototype that fosters a calm, relaxing, and low-stress environment to purchase cannabis.

Their flagship location in Belmont opened its doors in June of 2023, making it the town’s first dispensary. Located in an end unit of a multi-tenant building, this site presented many challenges during the design and construction process. The largest setback was the discovery of underground soil contamination from the building’s previous occupants. CAC, in collaboration with the owner and Vantage Builders, enlisted a team of experienced abatement specialists to address the issue promptly and safely in an effort to get construction back on track as quickly and safely as possible. Additionally, the layout of the new parking lot with limited entry and exit points necessitated a unique floor plan with the public areas of the dispensary bisecting the “back of house”. Despite limited options for enhancing the plain CMU exterior of the building, fresh paint, carefully placed wood cladding, landscaping, and awnings brought new life to a dull facade. Inside, high ceilings and huge factory windows helped us bring tons of natural daylight into the space, which reflects beautifully off the brass and green Cal Verde brand colors. CAC is particularly proud of the interior design in the Belmont dispensary, featuring a large coffered wood ceiling over the dispensary floor, tiled millwork, huge banana leaf wallpaper, clean lines, black metal, and glass.