[LMich]

Given the terrible economy with retailers closing left and right, I'd assumed that this was dead, but it looks like it's still moving forward. It's just an open-air mall, but given the location, it seems suitable and if it were to break ground in this economy and in this particular neighborhood would be a huge psychological boost.



http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20090401&Category=BIZ&ArtNo=904010336&Ref=AR&Profile=1001

$80M open-air Detroit mall moves ahead (http://www.detnews.com/article/20090401/BIZ/904010336/1001/$80M+open-air+Detroit+mall+moves+ahead)

Jaclyn Trop / The Detroit News

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Detroit -- Despite the economy and other setbacks, developers are moving forward with their plans to build an $80 million open-air mall -- the Shoppes at Gateway Park -- at Woodward and 8 Mile next to the Michigan State Fairgrounds.

More than 60 percent of the retail space in the 365,000-square-foot mall has been leased, and the developers are in talks with two major retailers -- one for a 190,000-square-foot anchor store and the other for a 40,000-square-foot space, according to Bernie Schrott, one of five partners in Gateway Park LLC.

He declined to name either retailer, but said both are union shops and "not Wal-Mart."

An announcement on the retailers could be made within weeks and the developers hope to break ground as early as next month.

"We're very pleased. It's going to be the largest commercial real estate development in the last 50 years in the city of Detroit," Schrott said.

Plans call for about 40 shops, each between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet, offering "medium to upscale discount" shopping, he said.

There will be no dollar stores in the mix. Nor will there be a central food court or fast-food outlets. Instead, the mall will offer casual family dining along the lines of Red Lobster or Applebee's, Schrott said.

"We're very protective of the community. The people who live there are going to be our customers," Schrott said.

"We don't want to put in anything that will be offensive to the people who live or shop there."

The mall will draw customers from the surrounding Detroit neighborhoods of Sherwood Forest and Palmer Woods, as well as from the suburbs of Hazel Park and Ferndale and other areas of southern Oakland County, he said.

Economy stalls development

The Shoppes at Gateway Park had initially planned to be open by now. But the project has suffered several setbacks since Schrott's group retained Chicago-based General Growth Properties, America's second-largest shopping mall owner, to develop the 35-acre outdoor mall in 2006.

The project has been derailed by Michigan's receding economy and downsizing by retailers and developers.

JCPenney, for instance, signed a letter of intent to anchor the center in 2007, shortly after the project was announced.

The retailer, which would have been the city's only major department store and the first to open since Crowley's closed its New Center store in the late 1990s, withdrew last year as part of its strategy for weathering the down economy.

General Growth Properties ended its involvement last summer, according to spokesman Jim Graham. The firm is at risk of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to its most recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Now, Gateway Park LLC, which includes long-time Metro Detroiters -- ex-Ford Motor Co. executive Elliott Hall, Greektown casino minority partner Marvin Beatty, theater magnate Joe Nederlander and former Wayne County commissioner Ricardo Solomon -- is developing the project without an outside partner.

The retail project was granted tax and other incentives two years ago when Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill that created a corridor improvement authority at Eight Mile and Woodward Avenue.

The incentives expire July 1.

"If a shovel is not in the ground, they have to reapply," said Tami Salisbury, executive director of the Eight Mile Boulevard Association, a nonprofit group that promotes business along the Eight Mile corridor.

Predictions of success differ

Farmington Hills-based retail analyst Kenneth Dalto said he did not think the neighborhoods near the site could support a large-scale shopping center.

"People are trying to put stores in for demographics that aren't there," he said.

However, another retail consultant, Fred Marx of Farmington Hills firm Marx Layne and Co., said that the center's location, access from the thoroughfares and accessible parking lots would draw shoppers.

"There are opportunities for centers with the kind of stores that are proposed," Marx said.

"I think it's a very doable project."

jtrop@detnews.com (313) 222-2300

I'm also particularly glad they've already made this a no-go for the likes of WalMart, fast-food shops, and dollar stores. For someone to say they don't want to offend the neighborhood seems unprecendented, if you ask me.

[Hayward]

Wow, I thought this project was most certainly dead. Good to hear Detroit will be getting some retail, even it's far at the edges.

[Cleveland Brown]

^ Me too! The entire part of the city (between Woodard and I-75 and 8-Mile to Highland Park) has been seemingly falling off of a cliff. It could really use ANY development.

[LMich]

I'm actually glad to see retail being pumped into the fringes. The inner city parts of the city will always have a pull for pioneers and will always create a culture to creative reuse. The fringe, however, is a completely different animal competing directly with the neighboring suburbs since they are so similiar. So, retail is needed out here more than anywhere else to even give these neighborhoods a chance keep people on this side of the border.

This isn't even to mention that places like Ferndale and Hazel Park need this just as much Palmer Park, Sherwood, ect. Ferndale, if even for different reasons, is posting an estimated population loss very similar to Detroit's if not greater according to both the Census and SEMCOG. Any extra amenity, if even it means something as seemingly simple and unflashing as an Applebees, is a good thing.

[hudkina]

One thing I find interesting is the northwestern corner of Ford Rd and the Southfield Freeway. There's a little collection of retail called "Crossroads Square" or something like that. It has a Doubletree Hotel, a Residence Inn a Chili's, a Wendy's, a Comp USA, and an Office Depot. A block away there's a Red Robin restaurant. The other three corners of the intersection are Dearborn. While the two hotels are billed as being "Dearborn" they are in the city of Detroit.

I just hope that this doesn't turn out to be another Bel Air Centre. While it doesn't necessarily have to be upscale, a Forman Mills, Burlington Coat Factory, and Mr. Alan's aren't going to cut it.;)

[canucklehead2]

Hmm, somehow Detroit winters do not scream open-air mall to me... Go figure...

[hudkina]

It's a good think winter only lasts three months, then... We can enjoy it for the other nine months out of the year. Besides, this is more of a strip mall than a "lifestyle center".

[LMich]

I'm not sure that even made sense. Developers aren't even really building enclosed malls, anymore.

[Michi]

Hmm, somehow Detroit winters do not scream open-air mall to me... Go figure...
Really, does Michigan Avenue in Chicago or Times Square in NY?

This project will surely be reduced to a cheap and bland strip mall only accessible by speeding 8 Mile Road traffic.

[LMich]

To be fair, those aren't shopping malls nor were they built as such. And, we're talking about something at 8 Mile and Woodward, not some organically grown main street. The point still stands, though, that it was a strange thing to say. I guess everything in Edmonton must be indoors? lol I mean, that's all that I could make of it.

Michi, have you seen the concept, for this? If even it doesn't turn out exactly as planned, it's certainly not going to be a Model T Plaza, if you know what I'm talking about.

[Hayward]

No one can beat Forman Mills and that amazing McDonalds with black granite walls at Model T.

[Michi]

My point was only that people shop outdoors in cold climates just as they do in warm. It doesn't matter how they're set up. When I lived in MI, in the winter, I would rather take a day trip to the Outlets at Birch Run than go to a mall in suburban Detroit. So what if it's cold or raining?

Also, I just don't expect quality out of something along 8 Mile. That's a transportation corridor where any developer can get away with disgusting practices and the surrounding demographic has no interest in what it looks like, so long as the business/service has doors open. They may have an interest, but again, the corridor itself doesn't have enough "teeth" in terms of image to hold anyone accountable for quality. That's just my opinion...emphasis on opinion.

[LMich]

Are you not aware of the Eight Mile Boulevard Association? I'm just not understanding the incredible cynicism, here. You're acting as if this thing was proposed in a vacuum, when, in fact, the developer is working in accordance with a unified business association who are very serious about beautifying the boulevard to the point of having concrete plans simple waiting for implementation. That doesn't necessarily guarantee, to be sure, but it also makes your determined cyncism inappropriate.

[hudkina]

It's also on Woodward, which is where all the "cool" cities are!

[Hayward]

Are you not aware of the Eight Mile Boulevard Association?

I wonder if they've found any use for our streetscaping plan we did for one of my graduate classes. I can say a lot of great things about the 8MBA, unfortunately what a mess it is for them to work across a multijurisdictional playing field at so many levels of government. Our project was called Eight on Eight, meaning 8 miles of street improvements on 8 mile road. I think their coverage stretches 26 miles...pretty impressive.

[LMich]

It's also on Woodward, which is where all the "cool" cities are!

So is Model T. Plaza and Highland Park. ;)

I wonder if they've found any use for our streetscaping plan we did for one of my graduate classes. I can say a lot of great things about the 8MBA, unfortunately what a mess it is for them to work across a multijurisdictional playing field at so many levels of government. Our project was called Eight on Eight, meaning 8 miles of street improvements on 8 mile road. I think their coverage stretches 26 miles...pretty impressive.

Would either of these happen to be it?

8 Mile Framework for Unifying Elements (http://www.eightmile.org/8%20Mile%20FRAMEWORK-07.12allstar.pdf)

Eight Mile/Dequindre Enhancement Project (http://www.eightmile.org/8Dequindre%20Intersection.pdf)

BTW, they also have a facade improvement program:

Facade Improvement Program (http://www.eightmile.org/8MBA%20FIP%20Brochure.pdf)

Yeah, they really have quite a bit of red tape to deal with given all of the different parties. It'd be great to see it turned into something with a bit more teeth that could eventually be a framework for some regional-level departments.

For the development, it'll be something to see how it ties in with the planned light rail line. The association already had a vision for a bus transit center somewhere along the corridor.

Speaking of the 8MBA, there was an article done on it a few weeks back, in fact:



8 Mile association holds line on metro Detroit blight (http://www.freep.com/article/20090410/NEWS05/904100312)

Traveling inspector will point out eyesores, offer aid

BY STEVE NEAVLING • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • April 10, 2009

A full-time inspector will begin cracking down on blight along metro Detroit's most infamous strip -- 8 Mile -- a nonprofit group dedicated to cleaning up the road announced Thursday.

The Eight Mile Boulevard Association plans to have a corridor keeper on the job by May 18 to search for eyesores along 27 miles of 8 Mile. The keeper will work five days a week, tooling along the road through 13 communities and three counties from I-94 on the east to I-275 on the west.

The idea is to notify businesses about code violations such as unruly grass, garbage, illegally parked cars, graffiti and deteriorating buildings. The association would offer to help struggling businesses clean up the mess before reporting the violations to municipality code enforcers who have the authority to issue fines.

"We want to rectify the problem before a business owner gets a violation," said Tami Salisbury, executive director of the boulevard association. "With the economy the way it is, everyone is living hand to mouth. We want to offer them solutions."

Despite its reputation as a dangerous, ugly stretch, 8 Mile is a growing commercial corridor with 1,600 businesses that offers a variety of services, food and unique retail items, Salisbury said.

"There is such a stigma tied to 8 Mile," Salisbury said. "We are changing that."

Some of the worst blight is in Warren, where vandalism and vacant buildings reinforce the negative stereotypes.

"The corridor keeper will really help because we'll have an extra pair of ears and eyes," Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said.

To spruce up 8 Mile, the association helped demolish vacant buildings, lobbied for commercial development and new bus stops and worked with businesses on landscape projects.

"Eight Mile has an imagery problem, but that is going to change," Salisbury said.

Contact STEVE NEAVLING 586-826-7255 or sneavling@freepress.com.

I really think folks need to start giving more credit to the goings-on in the city in terms or organization if even they are flawed by being so fragmented. I just don't want anything thinking or trying to get away with paiting everything as if it's going up in some kind of barren desert with no planning. That's often true; but not all of the time and not in this case.

[Hayward]

No honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it's beneath a pile of other documents in their final cabinet....at least I hope not.

[LMich]

I think I won't be alone in saying that Meijer should have been in Detroit, yesterday, but hopefully this pans out:



Meijer in talks to open Detroit store (http://www.detnews.com/article/20090627/BIZ/906270352/Meijer-in-talks-to-open-Detroit-store)

Jaclyn Trop / The Detroit News

June 27, 2009

Meijer is in negotiations to open its first store in Detroit, at Woodward and Eight Mile next to the Michigan State Fairgrounds, to anchor the long-awaited Shoppes at Gateway Park development.

An attorney for Meijer, Stephen Palms of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. in Ann Arbor, confirmed in a letter to the city of Detroit General Retirement System that the company is in discussions to locate a store at the $80 million open-air mall. The retirement system is financing the project.

The opening of a Meijer would mark the return of a major grocer to the city -- Farmer Jack was the last big chain in Detroit, closing in 2007. City residents have long complained about the lack of grocers and shopping options; Detroit has no supercenters such as Wal-Mart or Target.

In the letter, Meijer said the negotiations are incomplete and "a number of issues" remain open. But "based on the progress that has been made, Meijer remains optimistic that an agreement regarding the acquisition and development of this site will be reached."

Company spokesman Frank Guglielmi confirmed Friday that Grand Rapids-based Meijer is in the "early stages of due diligence" for the project.

"We're always exploring and investigating development opportunities across the Midwest," he said.

The 35-acre mall, which will offer "medium to upscale discount" shopping, will be Detroit's largest commercial real estate development in 50 years, according to Bernie Schrott, one of five partners in Gateway Park LLC.

The consortium also includes longtime Metro Detroiters Ricardo Solomon, former Wayne County commissioner; ex-Ford Motor Co. executive Elliott Hall; Greektown casino minority partner Marvin Beatty; and theater magnate Joe Nederlander.

The center also will include close to 40 smaller shops, each between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet, and casual family dining restaurants, Schrott said. The mall is expected to open in 2011.

Two other general merchandise discounters, Marshalls and HomeGoods, have signed on to share the 40,000 square feet designed for the mall's secondary anchor, Schrott said. The companies are owned by Framingham, Mass.-based discount retailer TJX Companies Inc., which also is parent to three other apparel discounters: T.J. Maxx, A.J. Wright, and The Maxx.

Meijer's space would measure close to 200,000 square feet. Together, the two anchors comprise more than 60 percent of the mall's 380,000 square feet in retail space.

Meijer, which operates 189 stores in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and throughout Michigan, is celebrating its 75th anniversary Tuesday.

The store would do "extremely well" at the proposed site because there are no other major general merchandise retailers or grocers nearby, said Paul Bensman, associate broker and principal at Locations Real Estate and Investments in Southfield.

"Any retail in the city is a good thing. It's a supply and demand issue," he said.

Bulldozers began working at the site Friday morning, and a construction trailer is expected to arrive there next week.

A tax incentive granted two years ago, when Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill that created a corridor improvement authority at Eight Mile and Woodward, requires that the project break ground before July 15.

The project has been derailed several times since it was announced three years ago due to the economy and other setbacks. Chicago-based General Growth Properties, the second-largest shopping mall owner in the United States, signed on to develop the project in 2006 but withdrew last year. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April.

JCPenney signed a nonbinding letter of intent to anchor the center in 2007 but that fell through last year when the national retailing landscape began to suffer from a credit crunch and dwindling shopper dollars.

Retail analysts said the project benefits from its location off a major thoroughfare and availability of parking.

The project's investors believe consumer dollars are there: Median household income is more than $100,000 for the surrounding area that includes the Detroit neighborhoods of Sherwood Forest and Palmer Woods, as well as from the suburbs of Hazel Park and Ferndale and other areas of southern Oakland County, Schrott said.

Critics have argued that the neighborhoods adjacent to the site couldn't support a mall of Gateway's size. The site, which sits on the border of Detroit and southern Oakland County, would not likely attract shoppers from the north, Bensman said.

"Eight Mile is like a river. People won't cross it to go shopping," he said.

Another major obstacle to the project is that most retailers can't afford rents for new construction.

"Construction costs now are more than tenants are willing to pay," he said.

Have to say, though, that I'm something less than enthusiased about some of the other names being thrown around as tenants.

BTW, doesn't 200,000 square feet sound awfully small for a Meijer? This is going to be one helluva crowded store, for sure.

[hudkina]

I don't think so. That's about average. Most Meijer stores are generally between 200,000 and 250,000 sq. ft.

I am VERY surprised that Meijer is doing this. I say good for them, and hopefully this store will prove so successful that they'll go even deeper into the city. A while ago I suggested the city redevelop the land bordered by I-96, Grand River, Oakman, and Elmhurst to accomodate a Meijer. There's at least half a million people within a 5 mile radius including residents from the wealthy enclaves of Grandmont-Rosedale, Boston-Edison. I'm sure it would also attract many people from Downtown and even northern Dearborn.

[Hayward]

Man, I wonder who worked the magic to make that happen. Certainly there is a demand for a discount grocer. But I'm expecting to see the type of security setup you have at Targets at Eastland and Northland.

[LMich]

Oh, you better believe it. The security isn't just going to be deep because of the actual need for security, but all to get the suburban customers to come to the store more than once. It's going to be both for need and show.

[Hayward]

Actually, it would turn customers away. It's intimidating to put it best.

[hudkina]

Yeah, I remember going to the grocery store near my sister's house in Florida and they had a lot of security. I was surprised, considering I've never been inside a major grocery store with actual security guards posted.;)

Security is pretty tight in most Meijer stores, though most people don't necessarily see it. There are cameras and "plain clothes" loss-prevention monitors.

[Hayward]

LOL, loss prevention. I remember 6 years ago Meijer Madness in Ann Arbor. Thousands of freshman were bussed over to buy stuff. The store was so ridiculously crowded. Most people there had never heard of meijer and the place was jammed. Pretty soon some people were opening boxes and bottles and consuming what they could. The store managers were basically "whatever, we are making helluva lot of money tonight, screw it." Recalling the shopping cart/soda bottle fortress blockading the liquor aisle.

[UglymanCometh]

Isn't "open air mall" just cool-city speak for "strip mall"?

[hudkina]

Basically. I don't care if this is just a big box with a sea of parking. It'll be better than nothing at that corner...;)

[Jasoncw]

I think it's interesting that older malls that have been enclosed are now going downhill, and that open air malls are getting more popular. Originally, malls were open air (Eastland didn't originally have a roof, for example).

Now retail just needs to regress a few decades more and we'll be back to downtowns and corner stores. :)


Anyway, best of luck to this project. If they can get it built, I have a hard time seeing how it could not be successful as long as it's well done and managed properly.

[Hayward]

The decline of the enclosed mall is not necessarily because the trend has gone sour. It's just that ever since open air malls became in vogue, they were being built where the people were moving. Yeah it's nice to shop at a brand new mall, but sales sq/ft have a lot more to do with its area demographics rather than the notion that success is tied to mall architecture.

[detmsp]

Man, I wonder who worked the magic to make that happen. Certainly there is a demand for a discount grocer. But I'm expecting to see the type of security setup you have at Targets at Eastland and Northland.

just curious, but what does that mean? i've seen plenty of targets where they have a security person standing by the door... do they do more than that at these locations?

[robk1982]

just curious, but what does that mean? i've seen plenty of targets where they have a security person standing by the door... do they do more than that at these locations?

I hope you don't think a security guard is the only anti-theft measure that is place in those Target stores you've been in.

[detmsp]

I hope you don't think a security guard is the only anti-theft measure that is place in those Target stores you've been in.Ha of course not. I know a thing or two about security at Target.... hell, I've been in Target's forensic crime lab. But the security guard and the cameras are really the only visible security

[Hayward]

They have tall tinted glass walls and turnstyles at those targets I was referring to.

[hudkina]

turnstyles?

[Hayward]

Turnstile. Sorry I'm on a mobile device

[LMich]

Speaking of turnstiles, that reminds me of a pay toilet/bathroom with turnstiles at a Picadilly Circus Burger King in London...bad, bad memories. lol

[hudkina]

Regardless of how it's spelled, what do you mean by turnstile? Is it like they're going on a roller coaster?;)

[LMich]

Huh?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/9/13172840_77533113ee.jpg?v=0
lakeline (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lakeline/13172840/)

[Hayward]

Regardless of how it's spelled, what do you mean by turnstile? Is it like they're going on a roller coaster?;)

The fixtures look exactly like the ones you'd find at an amusement park. Their purpose being to control one way of entry