Quote Originally Posted by Parkguy View Post
I understand everyone's nervousness about a big store coming into a neighborhood, but I think this project will enhance the area. It is well-designed and maintains street-front retail, links with transit, provides pedestrian walkways and mini-parks, and is on the edge of a denser, walkable retail area. If the city plans for traffic flow and parking [[which is all-important in this auto-centric city and region), I think that the local businesses can thrive.

This will be a perfect place for the city and state [[Grand River is a state highway) to show that they mean what they say about supporting transit and complete streets.

Look at areas like Greenfield-Grand River. It wasn't Montgomery Ward, Crowley's, or Federal Department Stores that killed that local retail area. It was when the anchor stores LEFT, disinvested, and shifted their investment and marketing dollars AWAY from the area that it fell apart. And look at what happened to those retailers: they died, too. I hope that this is a model that will begin to return us to local locations for big retailers that will serve as anchors for entire shopping districts, just as they do in the malls. Will the local area businesses have to make adjustments in their business model? Yes. Can they be successful doing it? Absolutely.

My thoughts exactly. Nothing is ever perfect anyways but, this is encouraging because it includes a multifaceted business plan to encourage smaller business implant. They seem to have made a smaller version of a suburban mall with landscaping that acts not only as a buffer or a moat, but also as a public gathering space. There is an effort there. It is refreshing to see a project where the anchor store is trying to come up with solutions to Detroit's rebuilding of neighborhood retail.