Right Next Door: Meijer to Sign Lease for Detroit Store at Eight Mile, Woodward

On Monday, the Detroit Free Press reported that Meijer was expected to sign a lease for the lot at Eight Mile and Woodward, bringing in Detroit's first big box store.

Meijer would be the anchor for the long-planned Gateway Marketplace project. Also reportedly going into the strip would be a Marshalls, McDonalds, and several other stores. The Free Press also reported talks of a PetSmart and an Old Navy as possible tenants.

We received several comments after posting this story on the Ferndale Patch Facebook page, which we've posted below. But tell us what you think of it. Will you shop there? Do you have an opinion about it?

• Greg Pawlica: I'd prefer a TJ Maxx, but I'll take the Marshalls. A Home Goods would be nice too! ... Oh and a DSW Shoes. There's no place in Ferndale to buy men's shoes.
• Scott Galloway: Good for Detroit - not so sure about impact on Ferndale.
  
  I hope that it has an urban feel to it or has some interesting layout or design element. Based upon the preliminary site plan that was accidentally filed with Ferndale several years ago it will incorporate the "geography of nowhere" and be indistinguishable from any other strip mall with a sea of asphalt, anchored by a few big boxes and a couple out buildings, but this one will have tall security fences around it making it less inviting.
  
  Let's hope the designs have changed, but I'm thinking that given the economy and the troubled history of this development it will be done at the lowest possible cost.
  
• Todd Abrams: Of course there will be a McDonalds. Shoppers would have to go all the way to Nine Mile and Woodward or Seven Mile and Woodward if they didn’t put a McDonalds at Eight Mile and Woodward. Could you imagine the inconvenience?
• Jeff Myshock: This shopping center needs a speakeasy.
• Scott Galloway: The state of Michigan originally purchased that land with the intent of creating an urban campground for families attending the state fair. Bernie Schrott, alleged murderer, gained control of the property in the ill conceived plan to put a NASCAR racetrack at the fairgrounds and then the developer General Growth went bankrupt and what we are left with is a totally boring development that will probably not integrate well into the community or intersection, but because it brings much needed retail and jobs to Detroit will get approved without too many questions being asked by the city. A shame. This should be THE premier intersection in metro Detroit and instead it will look like something plucked from Shelby Township.
• Pam Murray: Glad to see something going in there, but echo the comments of ho-hum boredom of another strip mall. Wish it could be more of a blend of nature and shopping like Partridge Creek, with its lovely outdoor seating areas and fireplaces. Maybe a little Campus Martius size fountain/ice rink that could be a performance area for the wonderfully talented area musicians and a gathering place for people from both sides of 8 Mile who appreciate music. A girl can dream, can't she? Why do we all complain that strip malls are ugly and just keep building more ugly ones, without thinking about something like a little piazza or plaza or park that could blend with retail and add so much to the neighborhood?
• Maureen McDonald: Finally. Finally. Finally. Certainly better than the Last Chance Saloon that used to cater to hookers on that corner. Thanks to the diligent efforts of the Greenacres-Woodward Association the building was closed and razed. We've needed good shopping for a very long time.
• Erica Tank: About time! I'm tired of driving to the Madison Heights Meijer!
• Paul Levendoski: It will end up half empty after the original leases run out and will look just like the strip mall on Eight Mile between Ryan and Mound. Yup, my glass is half empty today.
• Scott Galloway: I think Model T Plaza on Woodward in Highland Park may be the more accurate analogy - national and regional retailers replaced by independents - e.g. Glory Foods after Kroger (?) left.
• Gretchen Abrams: A premier intersection that is in the city of Detroit is Pie in the sky- though I agree it ultimately should be. But given its address and the current state of the city, a slightly more interesting shopping area with green space is where my hope lies for the immediate future.
• Mary Wanley-Sata: That's Eight Mile and Woodward - you can't put Manhattan in there. It's for Detroiters who don't have any big practical chain supermarkets in there. ... However, I have never seen any of those parking lots (Northland, etc, with even a tenth of the area being used. Big parking lots are scary too- I would think all the single ladies would choose not to shop alone.
• Anna McDevitt: Granted, I have not seen any plans for the development but I feel like those residents concerned about the strip mall "design" or it being "like Shelby Township" should look at a bigger picture here. It comes off a little arrogant when one of the biggest challenges facing our state is unemployment. People want (and need) jobs. This makes jobs - jobs from a Michigan based company no less. It may be unfortunate, however, the employment factor trumps the make-it-pretty factor. Let's not be the naysayers before anything is even built! We are all "Good Neighbors" after all, right??