Original plan included 10,000-square-foot mall.

What was going to be a strip mall in western P.E.I. is going to be a standalone store for the sale of marijuana.

The location for the store, on Main Street in O'Leary, was announced last month and has not changed.

"Our initial plan was we were pursuing constructing a mall in the town, a 10,000-square-foot mall," said Coun. Blake Adams, chair of the town council's development committee.

"We were planning on having the cannabis store as one of the tenants in that mall, which was a three-unit mall."

Significant economic impact

The town owns the 0.6-hectare lot, and will be the developer for the commercial space. Council had a second tenant lined up but that tenant withdrew, and council decided to drop the mall idea.

Adams said he is still expecting significant economic benefit from the development.

"The project itself, as far as the building and renting, we're looking to at least break even on that cost," he said.

"But our main focus is the economic impact that's going to be for the town of O'Leary, having the first location in West Prince and the traffic that's going to draw."

The change of plans has caused a delay, he said, but the town still expects to have the store ready to open by July 1.