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Earvin Magic Johnson may be bringing his magic to the State Fair grounds with a proposed development, perhaps one of the grandest in Detroit in many decades.
The Lansing native and his business partners Joel Ferguson and Marvin Beatty have submitted a plan to the state of Michigan to buy the government-owned, 157-acres of land at the Fair Grounds and create a village-like, mixed-use development that would include a luxury theater complex, retail stores, restaurants, condos, senior housing, office space and an Amtrak station.
The development would be built in “specific and timely phases.”
A final price tag on the project has yet to be determined.
“Our proposal is to develop the Michigan State Fairground property into an economically transformative destination for living, shopping and entertainment in the City of Detroit,” according to the proposal obtained by Deadline Detroit. “Its pivotal location along the Woodward Corridor, on Detroit’s northern boundary, adjacent to Ferndale and the Metro towns to the north, creates an ideal potential to serve as a destination to the populations to the north and south, and bridging the ‘8 Mile’ divide.”
The development would be contiguous to the new Gateway Market Place development at 8 Mile and Woodward, which has broken ground to make way for a Meijer Supercenter, a Marshalls department store, K&G Fashion Superstore and a McDonald’s.
Just how an added development of this magnitude would impact the surrounding residential areas is unclear, but it could raise some concerns. In the past, some uses mentioned for the site have included a baseball stadium and speedway, and neighbors have complained.
Kevin Francart, deputy director and general counsel for the Land Bank Fast Track Authority in Lansing, said a seven-member board for the agency, which owns the land, is currently reviewing the proposal before it votes whether to to let Johnson’s company, Magic Plus, LLC, proceed with the project. Johnson's was one of three proposals the board reviewed before narrowing it to one in recent weeks.
A recently created State Fairgrounds Advisory Board, appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder, which is comprised of area residents, will provide input to the board, which will determine if the project is feasible and whether there’s adequate funding.
Francart said the board hopes to make a decision by year’s end, but still needs to hear from the Magic group about costs for the project and what potential tenants it’s negotiating with. A price for the land will be based on a complex formula that will include the number of jobs and taxes generated.
The development, according to the proposal, would create more than 2,000 full and part time jobs the fields of retail, building maintenance, security, property management and food service. Additionally, it would create about 1,800 construction related jobs.
Frank Hammer, who sits on the citizens advisory board, concedes that many residents would still like to see the property be used for a state fair.
That being said, he noted that few residents know anything about the Magic Johnson proposal, so it's far too early to draw conclusions.
“I think it’s too early to talk about reactions,” he said, adding that he would like to see a marketing analysis to see if the new project can be sustained on a long term basis.
While Magic Johnson’s company was one of three that put a bid in to develop the property, Francart said Johnson’s company was the only one that submitted an application that complied with all the requirements.
Attempts to reach Johnson, Ferguson and Beatty were unsuccessful on Thursday. But on Friday, Beatty returned a call, saying he was “absolutely optimistic” about pulling off the project. He said the group has to still jump through some hoops with the state and negotiate a deal before moving forward. He said it was too early to tell which retailers would move in, but the customers would come from all over the area, not just Detroit..
Johnson, a beloved basketball star who played for Michigan State and the Los Angeles Lakers, has gone on to become a successful entrepreneur, investing in movie theaters, restaurants and sports teams. Partner Joel Ferguson, who sits on the Michigan State Board of Trustees, is a prominent businessman who is the co-founder of F&S Development Co., which has built 14 multi-family residential complexes in Michigan.
And partner Marvin Beatty, a former Detroit deputy Fire Commissioner, lists himself on his Linkedin page as a partner in the Gateway Market Place project and as vice president of community and public affairs for Greektown Casino.
The Johnson project would be situated to the south and west of the Gateway development, and would be bounded by 8 Mile to the north, Woodward Avenue to the West, and State Fair Road to the south.
The current proposal, which does not name specific businesses that would be tenants, does call for “major retail tenants,” restaurants, mutli-family townhomes and a senior living complex, a luxury multiplex movie theater along with pedestrian and bike pathways. It also calls for preservation of some key icons, such as the Coliseum.
Additionally, the residential area on the site would feature a recreation park and trails, a community pavilion, gazebos and sports activity.
Hammer, who lives in the Greenacres neighborhood of Detroit near 8 Mile and Woodward, on the west side of Woodward, said citizens will give the Johnson proposal a very close looking over.
“We’re trying to take a very sober attitude to any development and not be enthralled by the beautiful presentation.”
