From cops to cannabis: Flint Police Academy may become marijuana growing facility

Abandoned Flint Regional Police Training Facility

Abandoned Flint Regional Police Training FacilityHigh Times reports that the city of Flint is favorable to the sale of the former Flint Police Training Academy to a marijuana grower:

A building that once housed the Flint police academy in Michigan could become a cannabis cultivation facility if a proposed sale now being considered by the city council becomes final. If the transaction goes through, the site would become a marijuana growing operation for Evergrow LLC.

…The proposed sale was presented to the council by city staff on Monday. Under the terms of the deal, Evergrow would pay $500,000 for the site, which covers an area of 4.4 acres. Suzanne Wilcox, the director of the Flint Department of Planning and Development, said that after Evergrow approached city officials about purchasing the property, a call for bids for the site was advertised during a seven-day period. Evergrow’s bid far eclipsed the only other offer submitted for the parcel, which totaled only $20,000.

“We believe our land has value and we want to obtain the maximum value for these types of properties,” Wilcox said. “We finalized that purchase agreement (but) it obviously requires City Council approval.”

“The intent from the beginning was to get the project going as soon as possible,” said Franko Sallaku, the managing partner for Evergrow. “Flint seemed like a good city to establish this type of business in,” adding that the Flint police academy site “has been abandoned for a while.”

Before cannabis cultivation operations could begin at the site, Evergrow would be required to obtain the approval of the Flint Planning Commission and apply for and receive a marijuana business license from the state. The company would also be required to file for and obtain all necessary permits, pay fees, pass required inspections, and receive a certificate of occupancy for the building. City officials said the former police academy site is properly zoned for licensed cannabis operations.

More at High Times & more articles on Michigan cannabis cultivation from the MCT.

photo courtesy Ruin Road’s YouTube exploration video of the Flint Police Academy