Flushing View

Revised plan for developing former Kmart site to go before Council




GRAND BLANC — A plan to bring fresh commerce to the shuttered Kmart and Farmer Jack properties has renewed momentum after the Grand Blanc City Council reviewed amendments to the site plan last week.

Birmingham-based Grand Blanc Marketplace LLC and property owner Doraid Markus have proposed a new retail/office development on the 6-acre site at 12730 Saginaw Road. The property currently contains the 86,960-square-foot building previously occupied by Farmer Jack until 2007, and Kmart until 2014.

Redevelopment of the property is included in the most recent iterations of the city’s Master Plan and strategic plan.

In addition, the site was identified as the number one priority under the city’s Redevelopment Ready Communities certification, making it eligible for consulting, technical assistance, marketing and more services through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

“It’s been a while since you’ve seen this (proposal) and probably a little time since you’ve had any updates,” city planner Brian Borden told the City Council.

Grand Blanc Marketplace LLC appeared before the Planning Commission last year and presented the proposed Planned Unit Development rezoning and concept plan, and both were recommended for approval. The City Council has final approval over Planned Unit Developments.

“Last December, the architect was in front of (the City Council) presenting the project proposal,” Borden said. “We had some really good discussion. Some items needed to be addressed and/or cleaned up. They were in the process of doing that when the world kind of changed.”

The developers tweaked the plans a little, but “there are still a handful of inconsistencies” that must be addressed before council makes a decision, Borden said.

Developers have added the requested walkway connecting Holly Road and Bella Vista Drive, commissioned the traffic impact study and removed the parking spaces that were within the right-of-way on Holly Road.

And although they’ve reworked the parking, they’re still 13 spaces short of what the ordinance requires for the size and type of development they’re proposing.

Borden called the proposal an important project for a critical property that has been “underutilized or unutilized for too long.”

The project includes a 77,000-square-foot shopping center housing three large tenants in spaces measuring 17,000 to 26,350 square feet, plus a 10,880-square-foot building divided into five spaces of 1,660 to 2,750 square feet, and a 6,130-square-foot structure with a drive-through window.

Plans call for most of the storefronts to face Saginaw Road.

Developers have not indicated what types of businesses will occupy the spaces.

The project is slated for a 2022 opening.

The City Council will take another look at the proposal in November.