What’s Going on at 301 W 1st Street?

NEWBERG, Ore.—For the past several weeks, concrete slabs have been torn up in the vacant parking lot at 301 W 1st St. in Newberg, leading to the question: What’s going on at 301 W 1st St.?

The property sits at the west end of the Highway 99W couplet, where W 1st St. and W Hancock St. split. It covers two tax lots: 301 W 1st St. and 300 W Hancock St.

According to city filings, GP Management LLC, affiliated with the Green Planet Marijuana Dispensary, purchased the property in May 2020. In December 2021, the company received approval to begin construction. Between then and September 2024, co-owner Miranda Murray said they had been waiting for funds to complete the work.

Planned improvements include replacing asphalt surfaces, upgrading landscaping, and making minor exterior changes, such as swapping overhead doors for new glass ones. Murray said the parking lot paving project should be completed in the coming weeks, with an “ambitious” opening target of Black Friday weekend.

Of the total 5,820 square feet in the building, plans divide the space, with 3,500 square feet for the marijuana dispensary and 2,300 square feet for CBD retail.

The original plans for the outdoor lot included three spaces for food carts; however, Murray said managing on-site marijuana consumption, which is illegal on dispensary grounds, would be difficult.

“It would essentially require another full-time employee to make sure people weren’t shopping and then coming outside to enjoy a taco with their products,” she said.

The building previously housed American Classics and Hot Rods, a classic and luxury car showroom and dealership. That business closed on Aug. 22, 2019, according to state records.

Murray said she and her co-owner, Travis Moffatt, chose Newberg because it aligns with their business location strategy. Newberg will be the company’s eighth dispensary, with others in Portland, Canby, King City, Aloha, Lake Oswego, Beaverton, and Milwaukie.

One reason Newberg is particularly attractive, Murray said, is for the safety.

“We choose locations strategically that are safe for our staff members to operate,” she said. “It’s about way more than the bottom line—it’s about human life. We can’t operate in shady areas with high crime. I can’t make that phone call to a parent.”

Murray said it’s ambitious to open by Black Friday (Nov. 29, 2024) to capitalize on the popular shopping holiday but is tentative to commit to that date, considering the physical work still left to complete.

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