Southgate Meijer (Store 123) Renovation Updates

[mtburb]

This may not be within the city of Detroit but it's only about 6-7 miles from the closest part of Detroit, plus obviously this is why I didn't post this in the Grand Rapids section...

It's just been recently announced that the Southgate Meijer store will be renovated this year, along with a couple other Detroit-area locations. This will be just the second renovation in it's existence, which leads me to this short history of this particular store:

Construction began in 1993 on the property of what had been a former drive-in theater and an adjoining four-screen indoor theater along the Fort Street S-Curve between Eureka and Pennsylvania Roads and in what was, at the time, a very run-down, rinky-dink part of Southgate. The store opened on August 30, 1994 with the exterior featuring various facade shapes (which that year helped introduce Meijer to Indiana residents), including a yellow pineapple-like structure and with the original layout of three restaurants serving two cafes (one of which was in the yellow pineapple structure), grocery aisles marked by red signs, gray carpet in the clothing section, a pharmacy at the back next to the grocery section, a photo lab next to the general merchandise entrance, a Michigan National Bank and a shoe repair place.

The first renovation, which took place in 2005-06, changed the interior to confirm to standards set by newer Meijer stores by moving the pharmacy to the location of the photo lab and adding a drive-up window to it, moving the pet department to the former pharmacy location, hardwood floors replacing the gray carpet, the removal of the restaurants and the pineapple cafe and a consolidation of the various electronic departments into one single location at the northeast corner of the sales floor. This is the interior those who come to this store see today, despite a Subway restaurant opening in 2013 in the pineapple and a couple name changes for the bank, which was later Chase and is now Huntington Bank.

And now, Meijer is preparing to give store 123 it's second do-over in it's life, which will likely place a new aisle running through and perpendicular to the grocery shelves and move the electronics department to the middle of the rear portion of the store like new Meijer stores being built now and what first debuted in 2015, again to introduce Meijer to a new state, that one being Wisconsin. According to a cashier I spoke to a couple days ago it's supposed to start sometime in March with no set completion date. I'll be sure to post plenty of detailed logs with photos included once the work begins. As of now, that cashier and this page are the only sources of this project.

I have also created a Facebook group on this project so you can more easily follow updates as I post them.

Expect a Sketchup soon just like how fellow UPer tamais6 used to do Sketchup renderings of Meijer renovation outcomes...

[mtburb]

Here's the first media mention of this upcoming renovation, even though it's only a brief mention...

http://www.thenewsherald.com/news/kuspa-touts-grant-funding-business-growth-during-state-of-the/article_32bcf438-89fa-5636-8336-33355dd9c9a9.html

"Larger investments are on the horizon in the city, that includes a recently filed plan to renovate the Meijer store..."

[mtburb]

A before-and-predicted after comparison of the interior layout. It's based on how the renovations of near-identical stores in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis turned out.

Before:

Meijer - Southgate, Michigan by Matt Burb, on Flickr

After:

Post-Renovation Floorplan by Matt Burb, on Flickr

Post-Renovation Meijer - Southgate, Michigan by Matt Burb, on Flickr

The grocery section will be extended about 45 feet east to allow room for a new aisle running between the shelves. This will require the demolition of the existing bakery, which will move back to it's original spot. The middle of the general merchandise section containing the clothing areas will be rotated 180 degrees. Electronics will be moved to the center of the north area and seasonal will take electronics' current spot.

 

[mtburb]

Preparation work is now underway: electrical crews are occasionally coming into the store building (spotted their trailer today) and several days ago the underground plumbing pipes were inspected as the entire store will receive new tiles.

The actual renovation still doesn't start until the second week of March, however.

[mtburb]

Finally another article mentioning this renovation...turns out it will be one of six in Michigan getting renovated this year.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/03/these_22_meijer_stores_will_be.html

[mtburb]

The renovation has begun!

Floor tiles on the general merchandise section of the store will be torn up tonight. If you're planning to shop at this location now through August, well, you're in for a lot of headaches.

[mtburb]

Tonight's updates: the tile floor along the north and east action concourses have been removed, the support beams have been painted in a mid-level beige matching those in current new-build Meijer stores and the wall signs in that area have come down.

[mtburb]

I was able to make it there today and here's what I've seen: the east actionway and part of the north actionway have received new flooring, a few shelves have been moved around and almost all of the wall signs have been removed. In addition, the temporary door wall that was there at the entrance to what was originally shoe repair was removed and in it's place is the same "this space available" curtain that had been there for a few years before the door wall was put up.

[mtburb]

Update as of March 20th, day 8 of the renovation:

Temporary signs like the one in the first photo have gone up in the entire GM section except for the clothing area. They all are dark blue and have the subtitle "Bringing a new shopping experience to Southgate, Michigan". Next, the tops of the north wall in the GM section east of the back restrooms and the east wall in the electronics section (specifically above the blue band that is slowly being removed) have been painted in a tan color matching the tops of the walls of the recently-renovated Allen Park store.

The entire north actionway and part of the actionway separating GM and groceries now have new flooring. The southern part of the eastern half of the actionway separating GM and groceries has been stripped down to bare concrete and is awaiting new flooring.

Finally, the fish tanks no longer have fish of any sort and the jewelry counter has been completely cleared of all merchandise.

[mtburb]

Update as of March 22nd, day 10 of the renovation:

"We're Building You a Better Meijer" signs have been put up at both of the entrances. Parts of the pharmacy section, along with what used to be the seasonal and office supply departments, have been completely emptied out.

More of the top part of the wall has been repainted, it now extends from the window over what is currently one of two emergency exits to the garden center north and then west and ultimately a bit south to over the cheese shelves, with the exception of a gap in the pet department.

All of the "bringing you a new shopping experience..." signs have now been completely put up.

In addition to the paint work, more of the blue band in the GM section is being removed, the entire section of the band along the east wall and ongoing along the north wall has come down.

Finally, the entire east half of the actionway separating GM and groceries has received new flooring and the actionway along the north end of the checkouts is now down to bare concrete. I was told by my cashier (a new hire) that this had just been done the previous night.

I am amazed at how quickly this renovation is going so far.

[mtburb]

Update as of March 27th, day 15 of the renovation.

The GM entrance restrooms are now closed and will reopen around April 21st. The ceiling in the GM entrance has been taken down as well. Additionally the GM entrance will be closed nightly at 10 PM but remain open during the day.

The store's two other restrooms (one located along the front concourse next to the ice bag freezer and across from checkouts 12 and 13 and one located at the back in the pet department) will remain open.

The entire east wall as far south as the south emergency garden center exit has been fully painted and is now identical to the walls of the GM section of the Allen Park Meijer. The north wall is in the process of receiving paint and from what I've seen (I was only in here for a few minutes) the west grocery wall has been painted as well.

Finally, the "thank you for shopping at Meijer" and "customer service" signs along the front concourse have been taken down.

[mtburb]

Update as of March 29th, day 17 of the renovation:

The tile-block walls of the GM entrance have been taken out and replaced with drywall. Parts of the electronic department have had their flooring removed revealing bare concrete. DVDs and CDs previously sold in that section have been temporarily moved to the middle of the north actionway heading west from the elctronic department. Various pieces of short new tape have shown up along the actionways that have received new flooring so far.

The lighting in the infant clothing department is out which makes that area darker than the rest of the sales floor. Finally, parts of the wall along the front concourse, along with the top part of the short wall segment at the east end of the front concourse between the GM entrance and pharmacy, have received new paint.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 1st, day 20 of the renovation:

 

Plywood has now gone up along the bottom three feet or so of all of the walls of the grocery entrance. The historical photos that used to be displayed in the corner just east of the grocery entrance have been taken down. New flooring has gone in along the west half of the actionway separating GM and groceries.

 

Some hardware supplies have been moved to the middle of the west end of the north actionway, while parts of the pet department are now down to bare concrete. All but one wall of back area containing the back restrooms is now undergoing some work and the drop ceiling in that area has been removed as well.

 

Additionally, painting along the north wall east of the pet department has been completed and the blue band has mostly been taken down from the cafe. More areas of the front concourse wall have been repainted. Some work was going on in the pharmacy area because I saw plywood and a temporary white construction wall put up in that area. A construction curtain appears to be sticking out of the curtains blocking off the old shoe repair space.

 

Finally, SMART route 160 buses are, for now, not stopping at the park-and-ride stop, instead turning around in the west portion of the parking lot and just serving the stop there.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 5th, day 24 of the renovation:

Tarp has been placed on several piles of crates outside the exterior garden center entrance, hinting that the garden center is opening soon. A temporary pharmacy is taking shape.

New flooring has appeared in the north half of the H&B department and in the automotive and sporting goods departments, while there's still bare concrete in the south one-third of the electronic department and along the north end of the actionway separating GM and groceries (specifically north of the north actionway).

The hunting-license kiosk computer has been moved to the center of the north actionway next to the sporting goods department as well. Much of the north two-thirds of the clothing area is still without lighting.

Finally, more of the front concourse wall has been repainted. Even the blue band has been repainted beige, which is a huge surprise as I thought it would be removed along the front concourse wall like it was done at two Fort Wayne, Indiana Meijer stores with identical exteriors to the Southgate Meijer during their renovations last year.

And a correction: SMART route 160 buses are still on weekdays circling around the back of the store and serving both stops.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 8th, day 27 of the renovation.

 

Temporary latern-like construction lights have been hung in the GM entrance as well as in the clothing area. The removal of the shelves along the walls of the pharmacy and H&B sections has revealed the original gray colors of those walls, as well as a bit of the otherwise-recently-repainted light blue coloring from the previous decor package being removed in this renovation.

 

New shelves are taking shape in the H&B and former sporting goods/future electronics sections, the latter of which also now has a new white-black-and-brown hunting license sales photo counter which looks nicer and sleeker than the current one nearby, currently in the middle of the adjacent actionway.

 

Those same areas of the sales area that were bare concrete a few days ago are still bare concrete.

 

The canopies marking the presence of the deli, seafood, meat and "Delicious To Go" counters have been taken down.

 

Finally, some sort of grid structure has gone up over the checkouts. Does anyone know what they are called?

[mtburb]

Update as of April 11th, day 30 of the renovation.

This one is rather short...

More painting work is being done along the west wall. Construction curtains have gone up in the deli and now-nameless "Delicious To Go" areas. The construction curtain that was sticking out of the "this space available" curtains is no longer there.

The front concourse wall right now is an interesting sight, part 1994 gray, part 2005 light blue and part 2017 beige.

Finally, they are giving away maps of the store displaying where the departments have moved in this renovation at the GM entrance.

If you scroll down this page you'll see a lot has happened in the month since this renovation officially began.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 15th, day 34 of the renovation.

First the entire blue band encircling the bakery counter island has been removed. I'm gonna safely assume this island will be demolished and the bakery moved back to it's original location (bringing it full circle!) to allow room for the entrance to the new center grocery aisle from the produce area like what has been done in Indiana stores that are identical to Southgate on the outside that received renovations last year.

The deli area has received new walls. Almost the entire front concourse wall from Subway east to the GM entrance has been repainted.

A lot of measurement writings have popped up in the unpainted areas left behind by the removal of the blue band, which, to my knowledge, is complete with the exception of the one along the front concourse wall which will be retained.

Very tiny areas of the grocery area floor have fallen apart, for example, there's an area in the produce area that has disappeared revealing old tile from the old bakery beneath it. The bare-concrete area by pets is still bare concrete (I didn't check the one by the soon-to-be-moved electronics).

The network wiring grid enclosures have gone up over the north actionway.

Finally, they finally got rid of that disgusting carpet in the old shore repair space and it looks like they may have painted the south wall of that space too.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 19th, day 38 of the renovation.

 

To start off, the new electronics area is not yet open. However, workers were either 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through stocking the shelves there.

 

Meanwhile, the current electronics area is almost entirely empty with the exception of the TVs, the video game cases (which were empty too) and the photo desk. I was told by a cashier that the new electronics area is to open in July, but at this pace it looks more like by the end of this week or next week.

 

Finally, the new cosmetics area is now open. Most of the shelves seem to be emitting a highly visible white light.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 23rd, day 42 of the renovation:

 

Work on the GM entrance is complete. The GM entrance restrooms have reopened and the sign above the entrance to those restrooms marks them as tornado shelters as well.

 

The temporary pharmacy is nearing completion, while an area of the current pharmacy area next to the east wall has had it's flooring taken out.

 

The new electronics department has reached the near-completion stage to the point that the temporary sign marking it's location has moved there.

 

The tanks in the pet department have been removed, revealing the electrical outlets that the tanks were once plugged into. Anyone remember when that was the area of the original pharmacy counter?

 

The cafe counter has been taken out, revealing the original wall color of that area from when behind that wall was the kitchen for the Fred's American Grill restaurant.

 

Finally, a new wall is taking shape in front of the "this space available" curtain, with gaps along the bottom and in the middle, suggesting a door location.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 26th, day 45 of the renovation:

 

The garden center is now open. The hardware and much of the sporting goods areas have moved to the former electronics area. The new electronics area is almost complete. The new office area is starting to take shape. Work has begun in the grocery entrance.

[mtburb]

Update as of April 30th, day 49 of the renovation:

 

Wrapping up the first full calendar month of this renovation, construction curtains have been hung up in the ceiling of the meat/seafood departments.

 

The temporary pharmacy is almost ready to open.

 

New shelving is taking shape as the toy department moves west to next to the new electronics area.

 

Construction curtains have gone up in the bakery area, but there is a small area not obscured by the curtains that shows the new red brick wall of the preparation area, which means that the entire island won't be demolished.

 

I meant to say this a few posts back but the electronics and hardware areas, based on where they are now, have traded locations within the store, reversing a swap that occurred during the 2005 renovation.

[The ATX]

You're doing an incredible job of detailing the progress of this project. 

[mtburb]

Thanks. @The ATX

 

Update as of May 7th, day 56 of the renovation:

 

The mats at the grocery entrance have been removed. New, large maps have gone up at both entrances. The new sporting goods department is halfway complete while the new toy department is complete. The current furniture area is being cleared out.

 

The temporary pharmacy has opened as well finally allowing the walls there to be repainted. TVs are now being displayed in the new electronics area. The renovation of the bottle return room is going along well.

 

The food counters have had all of their photo graphics removed revealing the basic colors of the walls behind them. The seafood and meat areas have received new wall tiles. A new Purple Cow sign has gone up in the southernmost frozen foods aisle. More of the new red tile in bakery has been put in.

[mtburb]

Update as of May 13th, day 62 of the renovation:

 

Entering the second month of renovations we start with the pharmacy drive-up window which is now closed through mid-June. Construction curtains have gone up at the old pharmacy location, a few days ago there was a major drainage problem that required removing some of the already-laid new flooring. Hopefully that is the only setback in this otherwise smooth-going renovation.

 

A small section of flooring in the pet area is about to have it's flooring removed as that department now undergoes changes to shorter-height shelving units, parts of that department have temporarily moved to the middle of the north action way.

 

Kid's clothing has moved to the northeast corner of the sales floor across from the new toy department, parts of it is right now over bare concrete.

 

Finally, green exit signs have gone up at every exterior exit in the store.

[mtburb]

Update as of May 17th, day 66 of the renovation:

 

It appears that the new pharmacy window is underway as there is construction activity at the southwest corner of the garden center.

 

New lighting is up over the north actionway and what looks like it is up over the south actionway too.