Former UofM basketball star and NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber announced a 9-acre cannabis development just west of Corktown. Located along the Fisher Service Drive and Michigan Avenue, the $50 million development will include a 60,000-square-foot cultivation area, an 8,000-square-foot dispensary, and a private cannabis consumption lounge.
The Webber Wellness Compound will also include storefronts along Michigan Avenue. The group is looking to hire black architects for the redevelopment. Construction is expected to start this fall, with the first phase complete in March 2020.
Players Only Holdings will partner with Gage Growth Corp. for distribution of products, and Cookies U, a no-fee training program to get into the world of cannabis operations, which also includes a GED program and financial literacy.
"We will create, foster and provide a cannabis ecosystem that celebrates diversity, creates jobs, and benefits this community – focusing intensely on those who are being left behind," says Webber. "As social equity programs struggle in many states, we are here to support legacy operators who created the foundation for this industry so that they are included in future iterations of it while we wait on the politics to catch up."
While the first phase of the development will run about $50 million, Crain's reports that the cost of the whole development could be $175 million.
To the east of the property and I-75, Corktown has been booming with development over the last few years. The west side of 75, in Southwest Detroit, has had storefronts open here and there but no major developments in recent years.
