After weeks of negotiations, a $3 billion mega-development secured Detroit City Council's approval 6-3 yesterday.

Why it matters: The Pistons, Henry Ford Health (HFH) and Michigan State's "Future of Health" development sought $297 million in state and local tax incentives, plus approval for its community benefits agreement with the city.

• The Community Benefits Ordinance process, required when large-scale developers want tax breaks, has been fraught with confusion and disagreement over the true shape and impact of the development.

What they're saying: Arn Tellem, Pistons vice chairman and an influential Detroit business figure, attended the session yesterday to speak to the lawmakers at city hall. "It's an investment in Detroit and the health and wellbeing of its residents for generations to come," he said.

• Council President Mary Sheffield endorsed the Future of Health, saying "no project is perfect," but that the Pistons are "committed to the city" in a way that will "continue far beyond this project."
• Council members Mary Waters, Angela Whitfield Calloway and Gabriela Santiago-Romero voted against. Santiago-Romero maligned a lack of sufficient investment in community benefits around housing affordability and home repair.

Catch up quick: HFH plans a $2.2 billion hospital expansion, alongside 662 apartments being developed by the Pistons and a new research center with MSU.

• The development team sought public financing mostly for the Pistons' three residential and commercial buildings — plus approval of an ordinance-mandated community benefits deal agreed upon with the majority of a neighborhood resident council.

Yes, but: Some community advocates and an expert on Detroit's Community Benefits Ordinance dispute the true value of the project's benefits promises.

• They say the developers tout how they'll help Detroiters, but their language is weak and lacks tangible action items.

Context: Following an unofficial road paved during District Detroit's and Dan Gilbert's recent tax break requests, the development team agreed to add a few more community benefits commitments to its 52-item list, as requested by some City Council members to garner support. They include:

• $2 million for the city's affordable housing fund.
• $1 million for a community land trust.
• $750,000 for housing vouchers for students near Henry Ford Hospital who get MSU scholarships.
• Removing language seen as potential for "double-dipping" between donations and fees the developers are required to pay.

What's next: The project still requires state-level approval in April for its "transformational brownfield" plan, which allows large-scale developers to capture certain Michigan taxes over decades, before it breaks ground.

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The "damp" or "dry" lifestyle is going beyond January.

Why it matters: This year, huge interest in the annual booze-free challenge Dry January marked a change in the way American adults think about alcohol.

• The shift has to do with longevity and sleep becoming major health priorities.

By the numbers: Although U.S. alcoholic beer sales are fairly flat, nonalcoholic beer sales are on the rise, according to NIQ, which tracks buying behavior.

• Only 62% of adults younger than 35 say they drink, down from 72% two decades ago, according to the latest Gallup data.

Zoom in: In the Detroit area, nonalcoholic beer sales rose for the fourth straight year, up to $462,214 in January compared with $322,276 last year and $175,208 in 2020.

The intrigue: "Dry February" is being Googled more than ever in the U.S., with search interest this month 30% higher than last February, according to Google Trends.

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🏠 The city has at least 5,500 intergenerational properties worth about $268 million with unclear ownership, oftentimes because there is no will. (Free Press)

🍝 Eminem's Mom's Spaghetti restaurant was panned by a popular social media critic who likened it to "middle school cafeteria meat." (MLive)

🗳️ Arab Americans' growing lack of support for President Biden goes beyond his handling of the war in Gaza. For many, their frustration is rooted in years of feeling ignored or dismissed in the United States. (Axios)

🌡️ The warmest day on record for Feb. 27 in Detroit was set yesterday at 72 degrees. The previous record was 70. (WDIV)

Journalists from across the world came to Dearborn yesterday, where Arab Democrats upset with President Biden's handling of the war in Gaza urged voters to support the "uncommitted" option in Michigan's primary, hoping to send Biden a message at the polls.

Driving the news: Election workers told Axios they believe the "uncommitted" campaign was driving voter turnout for two precincts at a Dearborn elementary school.

• "We've already had more voters than we expected, we've already had as many as I expected to get all day," Mike Herman, an election worker and Dearborn resident, told Axios outside the polls.

Here's what we heard from voters at McDonald Elementary School:

Dearborn resident Moneeb Elhady usually doesn't vote in presidential primaries. He told Axios he came out "to send Biden a message that people across Metro Detroit don't agree with providing Israel with weapons and political support."

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Delta Air Lines added a new flight from Texas to Detroit to see April's total solar eclipse above the clouds.

The big picture: The airline is among carriers with flights that align with the timing and path of totality, a narrow track from Texas to Maine where the moon will cover the sun entirely except for its corona.

State of play: Last week, Delta announced an April 8 eclipse flight from Austin to Detroit — but it quickly sold out.

• The new option, Delta Flight 1010, will depart DFW Airport for Detroit at 12:30pm.

Yes, but: Main cabin seats were about $980 yesterday.

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