Somerset Collection owner buys former Kmart headquarters

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The owner of Somerset Collection in Troy has purchased the former Kmart headquarters complex for an undisclosed price.
The deal closed Dec. 29 after a 10-day negotiation, said Nate Forbes, managing partner for the Southfield-based Forbes Co., the owner of Somerset. The 40-acre Kmart property will have a retail component but planning is in the early stages, Forbes said.


It will be owned by Forbes/Frankel Troy Ventures, he said.

Grand Sakwa Properties of Farmington Hills had planned to buy the property for approximately $15 million, according to reports last fall.

Forbes had been interested in the Kmart property – which is just north of Somerset Collection at Big Beaver and Coolidge roads – for several years.

The deal with Grand Sakwa apparently fell through. Grand Sakwa officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Forbes said he got a call from the broker at CB Richard Ellis last month asking if he was still interested in the parcel.

“It all happened so quickly,” Forbes said. “Obviously, we will have a big stake in the city of Troy and that corner. We will undertake a study of the corridor. That process will begin shortly.”

The Kmart site is in the heart of Troy’s business district and is considered one of the most desirable commercial properties in Michigan. Its proximity to Somerset Collection, an upscale mall with 180 stores including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Saks Fifth Avenue, could draw similar retailers to a new development.

Forbes said he wasn’t ready to discuss elements of the proposed development.

“We’ll see what the market bears, but retail will be part of it,” he said.

Jim Bieri, president and CEO of Bieri in Detroit, said the sale to Forbes opens the door for retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues who need larger space than they can get in an enclosed mall.

“I’ve said for years that the highest and best use owners of that property was Forbes. They can make it into an added experience for the city of Troy and their customers,” Bieri said.

Troy City Attorney Lori Grigg Bluhm said the city hasn’t yet been officially notified of the purchase, but said officials are “looking forward to working with any developers of that property.”

Bluhm said the property is a planned unit development, which is a zoning tool that allows more flexibility for developers. The zoning, she said, allows for greater density closer to Big Beaver and requires some residential development.

Officials at Grand Sakwa, Bluhm said, told the city they wanted to create “a complimentary development to Somerset.”

If Forbes decides to develop the property, the existing structures on the site would have to be torn down — something Grand Sakwa had planned to do, city officials have said.

If not, she said, the property would still have to be maintained. But city officials are hopeful the property won’t sit vacant.
“It’s a great property. It’s in a great location,” Bluhm said. “There’s a lot of great things about that site and we are optimistic that there will be something there."