A New York-based cannabis company that's publicly traded in Canada has bought a number of properties in seven Michigan communities as it prepares to launch a chain of medical marijuana retail stores next year.

It's among the first signs of big business moving in to capitalize on the marijuana market in Michigan, as licensed medical sales began this fall and adult-use marijuana becomes legal Dec. 6.

Acreage Holdings made a deal with a Michigan holding company to buy up its undisclosed number of real estate properties for an undisclosed amount of money.

George Allen (Courtesy | Acreage Holdings)

"Michigan is a highly attractive state from a cannabis perspective; it's very progressive in terms of policy," said Acreage Holdings President George Allen. "Given the historical structure of the medical program in that state, it's made the state extremely ripe for a mature and successful adult-use cannabis program, and we've been looking for partners in that state for a better part of a year."

The deal includes a former industrial building in the city of Flint, and 30 acres of woods in Vassar Township, as well as properties in Detroit, Bay City, Battle Creek, Lansing, and Ann Arbor.

Acreage Holdings has a number of prominent names on its board of directors -- including former Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney. In November, Acreage completed a deal to go public in Canada that values the company at $2.8 billion, according to Investor's Business Daily.

While the players behind Acreage Holdings are known, the Michigan firm it did the deal with -- Blue Tire Holdings -- is less transparent.

Blue Tire Holdings -- a name randomly picked, said its Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saqib Nakadar -- is made up of a diverse group of investors including entrepreneurs and restaurateurs. Nakadar declined to reveal their identities, and the holding company is registered to a Detroit attorney's office.

"We're a group of local Michigan guys that started this company in hopes of establishing a good footprint for medical cannabis," Nakadar said.

Nakadar is a doctor that recommends the use of cannabis for medical ailments to patients. He was recently appointed to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Advisory Panel. He's also one of the owners of the historic S.S. Ste. Clair, the Boblo Island boat that caught fire in July.

"We're basically looking for strategic locations across Michigan that we feel get us the best footprint to deliver a statewide treatment plan," Nakadar said.

Acreage Holdings has licensed operations in 18 states. In Michigan, it plans to continue to work with Blue Tire Holdings to launch four retail locations in 2019. They'll be known by Acreage Holding's retail brand, The Botanist.

The stores will be supplied by marijuana grown at the properties they purchased in Flint and Vassar Township, according to the company.

In Flint, Acreage Holdings is purchasing the former Spen Tech Machine building at 4221 James P Cole Boulevard, a 55,000-square-foot facility. It will become a grow operation, processing facility and flagship retail store.

The Vassar Township property -- 30 acres of woods at 5156 Brown Road listed for sale at $119,900 -- will become a greenhouse and processing facility, according to the company.

Acreage Holdings will be pursuing medical marijuana business licenses -- but the company will likely also invest in recreational marijuana in Michigan in the future.

"If you're entering into the medical program without any eye towards participating in the adult-use program that's very financially troubling because one tends to cannibalize the other," Allen said. "Recreational or adult-use cannabis consumption is interchangeable with a mature medical program because it all represents an out of pocket expense for patients."

-- Amy Biolchini is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact her with questions, tips or comments at abiolch1@mlive.com.

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