NBA Legend May Be Bringing 'Magic' Back to Michigan

Something magical may be on the verge of happening in Detroit.

NBA legend, developer and Michigan native Earvin “Magic” Johnson plans to develop the former state fairgrounds in a plan that calls for hundreds of apartments, a movie theater and a specialty grocery store, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The former Michigan State and Los Angeles Lakers basketball player said at the Fuel Detroit conference that Lansing developer Joel Ferguson will work out the details and recruit retailers, “and then he’s going to tell me the check I’m going to have to write,” Johnson said.

Johnson didn’t give a timeline for completion of the project and said “any big development takes time.”

Johnson’s Magic Plus business team, which includes Ferguson and Marvin Beatty of Detroit, acquired the old fairgrounds for an estimated $4.65 million in 2013. The state fair was shut down in 2009 because of state budget cuts.

Fuel Detroit is the first in a series of three leadership conferences orchestrated by Detroit Venture Partners member and entrepreneur Josh Linkner, the Detroit News reports.

“We want people to see what’s going on but more importantly we want people to get tools so they can go tomorrow and make a difference in their communities and their companies,” Linkner said. “We cut all the fat and smashed all the quality content into a single day.

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