Michigan’s Gun Lake Tribe has started a development planning process in Allegan County that “could bring retail, housing, health care, manufacturing, entertainment and dining to US 131,” according to a local report from Crain’s Detroit Business. The planning process could take up to six months.
The Tribe, known also as the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, has been purchasing land near US 131 for the last several years. The development plans will include 1,200 acres along the major highway.
The Tribe’s Gun Lake Casino is currently involved in a $300m expansion project. Construction is expected to be completed by 2025.
Gun Lake Investments CEO Monica King told Crain’s Business Detroit: "Just with our own expansion on the (casino) hotel, and what we want to do with the corridor, we know that will probably drive employment numbers up and (cause) even more need for housing.”
Gun Lake Investments is the non-gaming economic and development arm for the Tribe. The firm will lead the new corridor development.
The development project will include the acreage on 131, spanning from 133rd to 128th avenues, along with one parcel to the north and land across from the casino.
King went on to add that “the planning process will help the tribe evaluate which non-gaming development opportunities to pursue.” She told Crain’s that developmental options considered in the plan might include dining, entertainment, retail, mixed-use developments, industrial and manufacturing, as well as a pharmacy and other healthcare facilities.
According to King, the Tribe has “already begun investing in and planning for utilities and other infrastructure on the land.”
