Meijer Coming to Detroit

[Danny]

What another proposed Meijer site in Detroit. We haven't got a Meijer site yet on Woodward and 8 Mile Rd. yet. Putting up a Meijer site at the Redford High School site might totally destroy the Old Redford Shopping District for good.

[j to the jeremy]

What another proposed Meijer site in Detroit. We haven't got a Meijer site yet on Woodward and 8 Mile Rd. yet. Putting up a Meijer site at the Redford High School site might totally destroy the Old Redford Shopping District for good.

Intersting point

[Danny]

There were 2 K-Marts in Detroit:

One on the corner of Plymouth Rd and Southfield FWY. Built in 1961 along with Farmer Jack Supermarket and later a Asian owned Mini Mall. K-Mart and the mini mall lasted until 1997 and it closed. It almost ruin the mom the pop stores on Plymouth Rd. commercial district. Now the building is brought by a Mega Church called New Providence Baptist Church.


other on Van Dyke and Lynch. It was closed since the early 1980s all was left is a parking lot with broken street lighting and very big blighted urban prarie on St Cyril St. The Detroit East Side K-Mart totally destroyed the Van Dyke commercial district up to McNichols Rd. There are no mom and pop stores in that one mile radius.

[313WX]

There were 2 K-Marts in Detroit:

One on the corner of Plymouth Rd and Southfield FWY. Built in 1961 along with Farmer Jack Supermarket and later a Asian owned Mini Mall. K-Mart and the mini mall lasted until 1997 and it closed. It almost ruin the mom the pop stores on Plymouth Rd. commercial district. Now the building is brought by a Mega Church called New Providence Baptist Church.


other on Van Dyke and Lynch. It was closed since the early 1980s all was left is a parking lot with broken street lighting and very big blighted urban prarie on St Cyril St. The Detroit East Side K-Mart totally destroyed the Van Dyke commercial district up to McNichols Rd. There are no mom and pop stores in that one mile radius.

I know there was a Kmart on Outer Drive and Sherwood [[closed early 2000s, just demolished within the month), not Van dyke and Lynch.

Granted, the commercial strips were already beyond repair from depopulation alone.

[Danny]

I know there was a Kmart on Outer Drive and Sherwood [[closed early 2000s, just demolished within the month), not Van dyke and Lynch.

Granted, the commercial strips were already beyond repair from depopulation alone.

There was a K- Mart on Van Dyke near Lynch. I check the the lot out there.

[bopcity]

Putting up a Meijer site at the Redford High School site might totally destroy the Old Redford Shopping District for good.

Thom Hartmann eloquently addresses this issue and explains why the answer to saving our economy may be found on your local street corner in this Daily Take: "How A City Thrives or Dies."

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Putting up a Meijer site at the Redford High School site might totally destroy the Old Redford Shopping District for good.

Might or might not. Target opened their Brooklyn stores while I lived there. And Costco had a store a block away from where I lived in Sunset Park [[halfway between downtown Brooklyn and Coney Island). They are a study in contrasts. The Target stores were built in areas that had other shopping [[mostly mom & pops), and were integrated into the streetscape [[at one store in a small enclosed mall, the other in an outdoor plaza). They contributed to major increases in foot traffic and there are more stores surrounding them than there were before they opened. The Costco, on the otherhand, was on the fringe of the neighborhood, mostly blocked by parking and fences, and generally forbidding to a pedestrian. The Target stores helped their neighborhoods, the Costco did not.

My general point of view is that the big box retailers are excellent for their communities in many ways. First, obviously, poorer neighborhoods semi-ironically lack low priced merchandise and groceries. Party stores and 7-Elevens charge a hell of a lot more money for comparable products [[generally, I know; I am sure someone can find exceptions). And they offer so many fewer products, both in terms of type and in terms of selection in a category. Meijer or Target or Wal-Mart bring lower prices and better selection to underserved areas. Secondly, also obviously, they employ many people. And most of the jobs they offer are fillable by people in their communities. They are entry level positions that do not require a degree and an amazing resume. Let's be honest, with Detroit's graduation and literacy rates, our un/underemployed can't wait around for 6-figure engineering jobs. Thousands of Detroiters are not qualified for anything BUT entry-level jobs. You have to start somewhere; opening a Meijer will be a start for many people. Retail/restaurant jobs are ideal for people without a great education, as well as for immigrants. They tend to be very meritocratic. Good employees stand out and get promoted [[most retail managers started in entry-level cashier or stock positions). They also have structured systems that can teach the willing how to become a good employee. I know these things because in addition to 20 years in restaurants, I worked 5 years in major retail, starting as a cashier at $5.15/hr, ending as a manager making $40,000 salary. I know people complain that retail jobs don't pay well, but remember this: no one will leave a good paying job to work at a much lower rate somewhere else. Anyone willing to work for what they pay is making more than they would otherwise. Additionally, Meijer stores are generally open 24 hours. This allows many people to work it into their family schedules, or around school or a second job.

I realize that there are drawbacks for other retailers in the neighborhood. But they can be mitigated. First, in the planning of the store, the city should insist on a design that makes it pedestrian friendly, and encourages both foot and vehicular traffic in the surrounding blocks. Second, mom & pops need to realize that they must offer products & services that Meijer does not. For instance, some stores surrounding the downtown Brooklyn Target changed completely. Bodegas would not be able to continue to sell $4 half gallons of milk and $2 single rolls of toilet paper, because that stuff was much cheaper at Target. So they expanded their fresh sandwich offerings. More dry cleaners opened. Also, boutiques with Carribean themed things [[from food to clothes) opened all over the area because a lot of West Indian people came from surrounding areas to shop at the Target. I am sure some businesses were hurt. If you owned a tiny general merchandise store in the shadows of Target, well it probably sucked to be you. But the community should not have to shop at small crappy stores that massively overcharge them [[note: more people are screwed by overpriced retail than by ATM fees; should we OCCUPY PARTY STORES?) in the name of stopping bog box retail. It is terribly unfair to shoppers without a big budget. The stores that benefit the community [[in terms of offering things the community wants at a price it can afford) will thrive.

The last positive thing about BIG RETAIL coming to Detroit: it knocks out [[or at least reduces) one of the 4 chief reasons people don't move to Detroit. That reason is I HAVE TO DRIVE TO THE SUBURBS TO DO MY SHOPPING.