Kroger's amazing feat

**stasu1213** · November-07-10, 08:46 AM

I was in the Pointes and had noticed the Kroger that was razed in April had been rebuilt and set to open any day. Had there ever been any supermarket in Detroit that was built in that short length of time? Someone had mentioned earlier that the Kroger on Gratiot and Seven was built quickly but I think it had taken a year to build that one.

**pgn421** · November-07-10, 09:55 AM

Those Grosse Pointers don't want to travel outside of their city to shop!

**MikeM** · November-07-10, 11:30 AM

I don't think that's quick at all. I lived in Florida in the 1980s and watched them clear a mangrove and build a strip mall in less time.

And pgn is talking out of his ass.

**GPCharles** · November-07-10, 11:50 AM

The "Village" Kroger has always been a gold mine for the company. They want to get it open in time for the holidays.

bartock · November-07-10, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by MikeM

I don't think that's quick at all. I lived in Florida in the 1980s and watched them clear a mangrove and build a strip mall in less time.

And pgn is talking out of his ass.

I don't work construction, but it seems that the leveling of the old structure, building and integration of a brand new structure into the existing village would take more time than just clearing and building up a strip mall.

**EastsideAl** · November-07-10, 12:18 PM

It's really kind of the other way around from what pgn says, the GP Kroger pulls shoppers from all over the east side of Detroit, as well as from the Pointes themselves. Like Charles says, the place is a gold mine, since it attracts customers from such a wide area. My mom shops there a lot, and the place is pretty much always jammed.

**JBMcB** · November-07-10, 12:42 PM

The new Trader Joe's in the Village is packed all the time, as well.

**Meddle** · November-07-10, 01:29 PM

April to November is around 7 months; not really all that fast. They can build, stock and open a Lowes or Home Depot in 6 months once the ground is cleared and prepped.

**softailrider** · November-07-10, 01:34 PM

The Meijers store that was recently built on M-59 and Adams Road went up pretty quickly too. The amount of time Meijers has spent messing with the ground on Woodward and State Fair seems quite lengthy in comparsion.

**Gistok** · November-07-10, 02:20 PM

In 1919 Orchestra Hall was built and opened in the amazing time of 4 months. Not bad for early 20th Century!

**kraig** · November-07-10, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by softailrider

The Meijers store that was recently built on M-59 and Adams Road went up pretty quickly too. The amount of time Meijers has spent messing with the ground on Woodward and State Fair seems quite lengthy in comparsion.

Meijers isn't the problem. The layers of bureaucracy and bullshit that has to be dealt with in Detroit is the problem.

**DetroitZack** · November-07-10, 03:10 PM

Kroger! Where I've spent the past 5 years of my life managing lol

**mwilbert** · November-07-10, 03:24 PM

Meijers isn't the problem. The layers of bureaucracy and bullshit that has to be dealt with in Detroit is the problem.

I don't think this is correct. Neither Meijer's nor the city is the problem; the problem is that the developers don't have financing.

From the July 22 Detroit News:

The project has been delayed many times but received city approval and is expected to start once
developers secure financing.

See http://eightmile.org/demo/demo/Html/...-%20072210.pdf

[[the original Detroit News article that this references is now paywalled).

**douglasm** · November-07-10, 03:43 PM

DetroitZack......
.....and banging your head on Shelftalks and coupon machines? [[I work for NAM)

**CLAUDE G** · November-07-10, 05:52 PM

I think they got to get the store built fast, for 2 reasons..

#1 Every day they are closed, it costs them money

#2 They don't want to get people used to shopping somewhere else.

**Patrick** · November-07-10, 06:29 PM

How much of the store construction is pre-fab?

**softailrider** · November-07-10, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by kraig

Meijers isn't the problem. The layers of bureaucracy and bullshit that has to be dealt with in Detroit is the problem.

That's suprising too - you would think the city would be chomping at the bit to get a good retailer into that spot. Or, if they aren't, they should be.

**Hermod** · November-07-10, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by softailrider

The Meijers store that was recently built on M-59 and Adams Road went up pretty quickly too. The amount of time Meijers has spent messing with the ground on Woodward and State Fair seems quite lengthy in comparsion.

Maybe they didn't have to deal with the incompetents and kleptocracts that do the permitting for the city of Detroit.

**Rochelle St.** · November-07-10, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

I was in the Pointes and had noticed the Kroger that was razed in April had been rebuilt and set to open any day. Had there ever been any supermarket in Detroit that was built in that short length of time? Someone had mentioned earlier that the Kroger on Gratiot and Seven was built quickly but I think it had taken a year to build that one.

I dont remember there ever being a Kroger there.
When was this?

DC48080 · November-07-10, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by Rochelle St.

I dont remember there ever being a Kroger there.
When was this?

Are you kidding?? There has been a Kroger store in that location for 50 years or so if not longer.

**Rochelle St.** · November-07-10, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by DC48080

Are you kidding?? There has been a Kroger store in that location for 50 years or so if not longer.

Seven Mile and Gratiot in Detroit?
Guess I will have to go back and take another look.

DC48080 · November-07-10, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by Rochelle St.

Seven Mile and Gratiot in Detroit?
Guess I will have to go back and take another look.

I was referring, and this thread refers to, the Kroger store in the Village in Grosse Pointe.

**stasu1213** · November-07-10, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by Rochelle St.

I dont remember there ever being a Kroger there.
When was this?

There were a Kroger on Gratiot near 7 mile a few years ago. The Montgomery Wards building was razed and the Kroger was constructed in the parking lot that was behind the former Montgomery Wards. Kroger had closed the store after a year of doing business in that location. Mikes Grocier currently is at the location. Someone had said that it had only taken that Kroger less than a year to be constructed but I disagree.

**313WX** · November-07-10, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by pgn421

Those Grosse Pointers don't want to travel outside of their city to shop!

They don't have to with two Krogers within Grosse Pointe [[excluding the village store), several decent gourmet markets and a Trader Joe's.

**313WX** · November-07-10, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

There were a Kroger on Gratiot near 7 mile a few years ago. The Montgomery Wards building was razed and the Kroger was constructed in the parking lot that was behind the former Montgomery Wards. Kroger had closed the store after a year of doing business in that location. Mikes Grocier currently is at the location. Someone had said that it had only taken that Kroger less than a year to be constructed but I disagree.

That Kroger location was constructed fairly quickly. It was definitely one year or less. In late 1999/early 2000 the old Montgomery Wards was still standing [[as Shoppers World, which closed in 1997 or 1998), and the Kroger opened in July of 2001.

BTW, the store officially closed as Kroger in early 2005, so it was open for 3 good years. Per Mike's Fresh Market's company profile they've only been open for 6 years [[which was late 2003). The copyright on their website is also from 2004. So what I presume happened is that Mike's Fresh Market had started the process of buying that store in late 2003, and completed it by early 2005.