“But we have this, and we’re doing it very well.” Why southwest Michigan?īesides the willingness of local officials to consider marijuana businesses, investors have been drawn to the area because of the availability of empty buildings - largely with the proper commercial and industrial zoning - that can be converted into dispensaries or facilities to grow, process and pack cannabis. “We don’t have a lake, a destination winery or some other attraction,” said Sanya Vitale, director of community investment for Niles.
So far, there are nine provisioning centers in Niles, Buchanan and Edwardsburg, with more on the way, including boutique shops called micro-businesses.Īnd at last count, there were more 10 growing operations in Niles, Buchanan, Benton Harbor, Eau Claire and Galien Township - with, again, more coming. Taxes collected by the state from the new marijuana businesses have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars for the individual communities, which also collect annual fees for the licenses. The total investment in buildings and equipment in Niles and Buchanan already exceeds $50 million in the past two years, and the cities say they’ve gained about 250 new jobs each. Then the state moved to legalize marijuana.Ĭannabis-industry investors were on the prowl for suitable locations for dispensaries, as well as grow and processing plants. They were greeted by officials in southwest Michigan who were willing to listen - and were highly motivated to entertain the business proposals.Ĭity leaders say the cannabis industry has packed more than a decade’s worth of redevelopment into the span of a few years, and they're looking at the prospect of even more projects in the coming year. So did National Standard, Tyler Refrigeration, Simplicity Pattern and other companies in and around Niles.īut as those businesses started moving, closing or scaling back, the cities were left with abandoned and decaying buildings.Īnd eventually stores in once-busy downtowns started closing too - thanks to evolving shopping preferences and the loss of residents who had to drive or move elsewhere for jobs.
Even with some ambitious redevelopment efforts over the years, large sections of southwest Michigan remained in decline, dotted with empty warehouses and storefronts.Ĭlark Equipment once offered thousands of jobs in Buchanan.
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