PROVINCETOWN — The owners of the former Provincetown Pet Resort at 79 Shank Painter Road, which for years was slated to become the Green Harbor cannabis dispensary, have petitioned the planning board for a special permit to change the ground-floor unit from commercial to residential use.
The mixed-use property includes the 1,946-square-foot commercial space, a three-bedroom basement that is deed-restricted as employee housing, and five other residential units, three above the commercial space and two in a duplex behind the building.
If the planning board approves the change, the property would become entirely residential. Town Planner Thaddeus Soulé wrote in a staff report that conversion to residential “is generally viewed as a less-intense use,” but that a solid stockade-style fence in front of the new unit would not be appropriate for the streetscape on Shank Painter Road.
The first kennel on the property was opened by Karen Silva and Custodio Silva Jr., who bought the parcel in 1998 from the owners of the former Provincetown Golf Range, Soulé wrote.
In 2014, it became the Provincetown Pet Resort and Supply, owned by Thomas Walter and David Sanford, proprietors of the Brass Key and Crowne Pointe hotels, and their partner Kenneth Masi. Their company, Five Star Pet Services LLC, lists Walter as the company manager.
In 2019, the pet resort closed, and the town approved a host community agreement with Green Harbor Dispensary LLC, a company owned by Nick, Mukesh, and Rashmi Patel of Middleborough, who planned to lease the ground-floor commercial unit from Walter.
Although a Green Harbor dispensary did open in Middleborough, the Provincetown site never opened its doors. Rashmi Patel confirmed that the company is no longer pursuing a dispensary in Provincetown, giving no reason for that decision. The company’s sign is still on the building at 79 Shank Painter.
In 2021, Walter converted 79 Shank Painter Road into a condo complex called Arrow Wood and sold off all the residential units.
Three of them — the basement employee-housing unit and two one-bedrooms above the commercial space — were sold to Linchris Hotel Corp. of Plymouth as part of a $25-million deal in November 2021 that included the Brass Key and Crowne Point hotels and several other employee housing properties.
Unit C, the commercial space that had held the dog hotel, was transferred to TKD Investment Group LLC, a Florida company that also lists Walter as the manager.
Walter’s attorney Eliot Parkhurst told the planning board on July 25 that Walter and his partner had sold their local residence but wanted “to keep a presence in Provincetown.”
A home at 9 Oppen Lane that had been owned by Coastal Land Trust, with Walter as the trustee of record, was sold on May 13 for $6.8 million.
Parkhurst told the planning board he was initially instructed to secure a commercial tenant to replace Green Harbor, but the owners changed their minds after looking for a place to live in town. “They said, ‘The best thing for us is to take this and turn it into a residence,’ ” Parkhurst told the board.
Walter declined to comment for this story.
John Waldron, who owns one of the residential condos at 79 Shank Painter, was the only resident to attend the July 25 hearing. Condo owners have not been kept abreast of plans for Unit C, he said.
“We have been in contact with the owners numerous times, saying, ‘Hey, what’s the future of the pot dispensary?’ ” Waldron said — adding that the idea of a dispensary in their midst had been “quite a heartache.”
“The idea of a residential unit — the residents would love to see it and hear more about that,” Waldron said.
Parkhurst had emailed the condo owners the day of the planning board hearing asking them to write letters of support. He believed the owners of Unit C had already outlined their plan to residents of the complex, he told the board.
Soulé’s staff report said that the change of use would likely have negligible impacts but strongly recommended against allowing the “solid, stockade-style fence” the owners had proposed for part of the property’s front border with Shank Painter Road.
A parking area at the left front of the property would no longer be needed for the two-bedroom home, and the owners had proposed a green space for their dogs bordered by a tall fence on three sides.
“The current vision being developed for Shank Painter Road includes maintaining an active street-level with storefronts on the ground floor and residential uses above,” said Soulé’s report. “A solid fence would be hostile to the neighborhood and does not support the town’s commitment to improving pedestrian/cyclist experiences along the roadway.”
Soulé added, “A standard three-foot picket fence would be more appropriate.”
Planning board members had similar concerns about the fence, favoring something shorter that would give passersby a view of the yard and the side of the condo. Chair Dana Masterpolo asked if a privet hedge could be used instead of the stockade fence.
The board continued the hearing to Aug. 8 and instructed Parkhurst to return with a handful of fencing options. Members said the owners could use the extra two weeks to meet with the condo residents.
