What Is Inside $175M Cannabis Compound Former NBA Star Chris Webber Announced

Former NBA star Chris Webber has shared new details about his $175 million cannabis compound in southwest Detroit that will include a 60,000-square-foot cultivation area, a dispensary, and a cannabis consumption lounge.

Webber and his business partner, entrepreneur Lavetta Willis, announced the establishment of the Webber Wellness Compound on Tuesday. During the ceremonial groundbreaking for the initial phase of the compound’s development, the 5-time NBA All-Star player said the facility will “train thousands of individuals for the cannabis industry,” The Detroit News reported.

Owned by Webber and Willis’ Players Only Holdings, the 180,000-square-foot facility will feature a 60,000-square-foot cultivation area, an 8,000-square-foot dispensary expected to be completed by March 2022, and a private cannabis consumption lounge due for opening in eight months. The cultivation area is expected to be opened in 18 months.

The cannabis compound is housed in a former industrial building at 2599 22nd St., along Michigan Avenue, which is less than a mile from the Corktown renovation of Ford Motor Co.’s Michigan Central Depot. It is unclear whether the compound's development will be affected by a recent roadblock in recreational marijuana applications in Detroit.

In June, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said Detroit's city ordinance on recreational marijuana applications “gives an unfair, irrational and likely unconstitutional advantage to long-term Detroit residents over all other applicants." As a result, the city halted recreational cannabis licenses indefinitely.

Speaking about the training program, Webber noted that it will be run by cannabis company Cookies under its Cookies U job training and placement program, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The program is focused on recruiting students from underrepresented communities and minority groups. Webber said the three-month program will include training for various cannabis-related jobs such as marijuana cultivation and bud tending, or cannabis handling and selling.

Gage Growth Corp. will distribute Players Only products. The first phase of development, with a budget of $50 million, will begin this fall and has a completion timeline of March 2022, but Webber said there is no timeline for the second phase yet. The cultivation area will eventually be expanded to 80,000 square feet.

Webber’s announcement came following the launch of a $100 million private equity cannabis fund earlier this year by the former Golden State Warriors player Willis and Jason Wild of New York-based JW Asset Management. “It’s crucial that we diversify leadership within the cannabis industry and level the playing field for people from our communities,” Webber said of the fund’s launch in February.

The 48-year-old former NBA Rookie of the Year was born in Detroit. He attended high school in the area and played for several NBA teams including the Golden State Warriors and Detroit Pistons.