Mount Clemens has long been known as Bath City for its rich history related to mineral baths as well as Macomb County’s entertainment capital.

But the county seat may be in line for a new moniker in the next few years, as a medical marijuana destination spot in Macomb County.

Mount Clemens recently awarded licenses for a processing center at the former Gibraltar Trade Center on North River Road near Interstate 94 and a retail facility for the former Kraatz Flowers shop on Groesbeck Highway, north of Cass Avenue.

“We decided to get into it and took a whole year to study the issue, to find out as much as we could about the industry,” said Mayor Barb Dempsey. “There is a need for medical marijuana, and if it helps people, then absolutely, let’s do it.”

The former site of Kraatz Flowers on Groesbeck Highway between a Taco Bell restaurant and the now-closed Big Boy will be occupied by a medical marijuana retail sales center.MITCH HOTTS -- THE MACOMB DAILY ▲

In terms of the economic impact for city government, the move is projected to generate about $65,000 in annual licensing fees, Dempsey said.

“That may not seem like a lot of money, but it is to Mount Clemens,” the mayor said.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Michigan since 2008.

The City Commission approved a medical marijuana ordinance this past December. A four-member committee made up of city administrators reviewed applications for various licenses and centered on two applicants.

The Gibraltar site is owned by Clinton Township developer and businessman James George, who purchased the 55-acre Weekend Public Market in 2017. It had operated as a regional trade center for 27 years and once was the site of the Mount Clemens Race Track, which shut down in 1986.

George serves as chairman of the McLaren Macomb hospital’s Board of Trustees and gifted the former Moravian Hills Country Club to Clinton Township for development of 30 acres of tree-lined parkland for the George George Park.

According to city officials, plans call for George to invest $15 million into the property, by adding ventilation and lighting equipment to the 300,000-square-foot existing building and constructing a second building on the site.

The facility will be used for harvesting, storing and processing cannabis into various by-products.

Reached by phone in California on Thursday, George said he was in a business meeting and did not have time to discuss the project. He said he would be willing to talk about it with a reporter next week.

Images of a medical marijuana retail sale center at the site of Parkway Plaza in Clinton Township were shared on Facebook by township Supervisor Robert Cannon.IMAGE -- FACEBOOK ▲

Mayor Dempsey said although the issue may still be a divisive one, she has confidence in the integrity of George’s plan, given his track record of community service as well as his experience as a successful business operator.

“The location is ideal because it’s an industrial site right along the freeway. I think Jim George has a record of being a partner in community projects and I look forward to seeing what he can do here,” she said.

The former Kraatz property became vacant in 2010 when the longtime florist moved operations over a few blocks to Cass Avenue. The building has since been demolished.

JARS Holding, LLC, a Royal Oak-based company, was awarded the license to build a provisioning center where medical marijuana can be sold at retail to qualifying patients or primary caregivers.

Hani Kassab, who is listed as the agent for the firm, could not be reached for comment.

Additional details, including a timeline for the two projects, were not immediately available.

Earlier this week, officials in neighboring Clinton Township announced they were opting out of allowing medical marijuana sales in the state’s most-populated township.

Robert Cannon, the township supervisor, said the issue had become too polarizing and without support from the township’s Board of Trustees and other community stakeholders, he decided against pursuing the issue.

“One of the things I took into consideration was the fact that I knew Mount Clemens was going to be having these facilities, so our residents who need medical marijuana would have somewhere close to go to,” Cannon said. “I have residents begging me to make sure there is somewhere close to home to purchase safe medical marijuana.”

Cannon said James George had submitted artist renderings for plans to convert the dilapidated Parkway Plaza shopping center into a center for marijuana operations by investing several millions into the property. George purchased the 13-acre complex this past November.

On Friday, Cannon posted images of George’s plans on his Facebook page. Those show the existing center divided into separate buildings.

The images were shared on the Clinton Township Resident’s Group page, where they generated more than 370 comments in three hours.

It’s not yet known what steps George will take for that property now that the medical pot plan has been shelved.