Meijer might open a store at the Shops at Gateway[[Woodward and Eight Mile).The Detroit News has the story,
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Meijer in talks to open Detroit store

Jaclyn Trop / The Detroit News

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.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...t-store/?imw=Y