Proof · Days to open
How long does it take? From site to store, step by step.
7–12 weeks, site secured to proximity protection. Everything after runs on the same weekly-cadence methodology that gets a buildout finished on schedule.
7–12 weeks, site secured to proximity protection. Everything after runs on the same weekly-cadence methodology that gets a buildout finished on schedule.
The timeline starts the day PCA secures the right property: a viable, suitable site with a landlord willing to work with a dispensary. At that point we file the Notice to Municipality. OCM requires 30 days' notice before it will issue proximity protection, and the municipality may request one 30-day extension. Everything else runs in parallel or follows in sequence.
Days of municipal notice, the notice period is the deal period. Nothing on this timeline waits its turn. While the municipal clock runs, PCA negotiates and finalizes your lease, sublease, and Platform documents, so the OCM submission goes out the day the window closes.
Timeline reflects typical OCM processing as of 2026 and is provided for planning purposes only; agency response times vary and are outside PCA's control. Site-search duration precedes Week 0 and varies by market.
Most cannabis retail buildouts don't fall behind because of one big problem. They fall behind because a dozen small things (equipment lead times, a POS integration, a staffing gap) all quietly slip a few days each, and nobody's tracking them against a single shared timeline.
Every week of delay is a week of fixed costs — rent, insurance, staff on the payroll — with no revenue yet to offset them.
Every store PCA opens runs on the same operating framework, fourteen workstreams tracked against one shared timeline:
The operator and PCA work from the same live plan from the day it starts, not a document that gets emailed and forgotten. Tasks are assigned an owner and a target date measured against opening day, so everyone can see, at a glance, what's on track and what's slipping.
Every vendor, system, and filing queued up.
The buildout itself, plus the accounts and systems that need to be live before day one.
Staffing, training, inspections, and the marketing push that turns a finished buildout into an actual grand opening.
The Platform is in development. It will be the single sign-in for the PCA team, for clients and their staff, and for shareholders.
If you need access to something in the meantime, write to hi@platformcanna.com and we will point you to the right place.