4th marijuana shop gets OK from Port Huron's planning commission

Plans for a fourth adult-use marijuana shop are in motion in Port Huron — this time, around 10th Street and Lapeer Avenue.

Planning commissioners signed off on a special use permit for the Nirvana Center at 1007 Lapeer Ave., where, according to site plans, the operator is slated to repurpose a vacated 20,800-square-foot former restaurant storefront with bright turquoise signage for recreational cannabis.

“It was an old Pizza Hut. The traffic flow to the corner, it’s got the frontage,” said Morgan Mansour, the project manager. “So, they’re looking to invest a substantial amount of money to redo that site and get the license transferred over. Obviously, they’re looking to hire within the community. At (a) minimum, 15 employees will be required to operate that store — up to 20, depending on how many are full-time or how many are part-time. Even the contracting work, they’re also trying to find local contractors here because it is a little ways out.”

Doing business as the Nirvana Center, its local permitting for a retail outfit was originally granted by the city to Revolution Strains, Inc., in early 2021, as one of multiple operators at addresses across town, including consumption lounges and microbusinesses.

None of those plans moved forward with applicants for local licensure locked in litigation until early 2023, citing issues with the results of a scoring system outlined in a voter-approved marijuana ordinance. While an ongoing lawsuit remains in appeals court, the original provisional license recipients are able to move forward.

The Nirvana Center marks the fourth outlet in the last year to go before the planning commission for a special use permit as required in local zoning laws.

Exhibit Cannabis, which caught fire in December on site along the Black River, JARS Cannabis downtown, and Ox Tail Inc., doing business as Moses Roses at the former Ernest Camera Shoppe, had all originally slated opening dates toward the end of last year, though none announced an opening date as of this week.

Revolution Strains, Inc., initially received its provisional license at 2569 Lapeer Ave., which was previously a Peak Performance Oil and Lube.

However, on Tuesday, Mansour said the former Pizza Hut was a much better fit, and under the local licensure ordinance, transferring licenses or moving addresses is permitted with proper notice to the city clerk’s office.

The former restaurant at 1007 Lapeer was one of multiple sites where an application had been submitted by Portage Acquisitions, Inc. That operator was granted licenses elsewhere in town but has not brough a special use request to the planning commission.

The commission’s discussion of the Nirvana Center’s plans was brief on Tuesday, and Mansour later added, “We did our homework prior."

He said they hope to be ready to operate in 90 days after structural upgrades to the old Pizza Hut, particularly to the roof. Of moving locations, he said, “This site was just better.”

There are 12 other Nirvana Center sites in Michigan, Mansour said, with a 13th opening soon in Royal Oak. The Port Huron location would be their 14th.

After years of sitting vacant, he said they were glad to bring that site at 10th and Lapeer back to life.

On Tuesday, Mansour assured planning commissions they’d have 24-hour surveillance and security in place as needed for the business.

“I know odor is something, too, that residents (can be) concerned about. So, they do have a plan … to neutralize the air. They’ve been through this. They’ve found solutions,” he said. “From a retail side, it’s not an issue.”

There were no other speakers during a public hearing for Port Huron’s Nirvana Center Tuesday.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: 4th marijuana shop gets OK from Port Huron's planning commission