Orchard Park Development

[GRDadof3]

that's pretty cool, I thought Cabella's though was quite a novelty, and one of the things that make it a novelty, is the fact that there are so few. If they build one in Walker don't you think that it could possibly be a fraction of what they are in Dundee. I guess I don't really know that much about them but I thought there were only a handful in oddball locations really somewhat isolated from Metro areas.

I think there are only a handful around the country (maybe 12 I read). They are apparently trying to capture outdoor enthusiasts that visit West Michigan from Indiana and Illinois. The article may still be linked in one of the previous posts. I won't say anything bad about Cabela's again. I know they carry more than just hunting stuff now.

[superNOVA]

Well it is an ideal location. West Michigan is definitely the gateway to the North for a lot of people. I am sure that the store would do as good as any of their other locations. It may also put us on the radar for other picky chains - ie: IKEA.

[snoogit]

The west michigan store could outstrip the dunee store for sales.

I would think if your coming from Indiana, Illinois or Wisconsin to hunt here, then west michigan would be your hunting grounds.

[GRDadof3]

For all you Cabela's fans who would like to see it in GR, I heard from a realtor friend that Mecosta County (Big Rapids specifically) has also been in heavy "talks" with Cabela's.

[OneSweetWorld]

is there a specific location mentioned, or are there any developments going up that they are looking at? if they do build in west mich. somewhere, i dont wanna drive all the way to big rapids. but i guess its closer than dundee....

[snoogit]

is there a specific location mentioned, or are there any developments going up that they are looking at? if they do build in west mich. somewhere, i dont wanna drive all the way to big rapids. but i guess its closer than dundee....

The Cabellas if it went in at 4 mile and walker would be where the "Happy Apple" Orchards are. Back when Rivertown was on the Drawing board, there were two locations being discussed, 44th and Wilson, and 4 MIle and Walker. The people in Walker were campaigning hard to NOT get the Mall at that corner, and it eventually paid off, and it went to 44th and Wilson.

I knew it wouldnt take long to see something else be proposed for that area, and if it does end up being a Cabellas tied in with a "Lifestyle Center" then I dont think Walker will even listen to the people this time if they complain, there would be too much money at stake if this were the case.

PS Anyone notice that Walker is adding Sidewalks Along 4 mile, and Southbound from 4 mile on Alpine?

[GRDadof3]

No, I haven't been through that area in awhile. And my confidant did not specify where, but somewhere near 131 and M-20. I also hear that Hamilton is being looked at. All this fuss. Michigan Sportsman Forum is reporting that Cabela's bought 165 acres of land South of Holland:

http://www.michiganwalleye.com/forum/showt...93&page=5&pp=15

That had me going too.

[Veloise]

Dundee is almost Metro Toledo it is so far South. The article says it draws 6 Million visitors a year, which is more than Mackinaw Island. ...

Dundee is a lot more convenient than Mackinac Island for a large population to reach, and Cabela's is going full bore (sorry!) with the Bronner's-style billboards. (You know, the ones located several hundred miles away from the "attraction" being hawked.)

During my years in Ann Arbor I used to drive to Toledo several times a year; for a while almost weekly. Exit 17 was worth a stop; a couple of gas stations and maybe 3 fast food places (if you're headed home after midnight, it made for a good caffeine break). IIRC there was not even a traffic light at the freeway ramp.

Not any more! Every plastic sign food vendor has staked a claim. Several motel chains so you can stay overnight and shop some more. The amount of development that's sprung up in those cornfields is incredible. One Ag land user is hanging on by promoting a corn maze (using a shrink-wrapped haybale as a billboard). Pretty soon they'll probably add family-style attractions (besides the McPlayland) to provide something for the non-hunting relatives to do. I believe they have weekly events to attract special interest groups.

On my only visit ever, I spent a couple of hours looking at everything in the store. (It was a blistering hot day in July, the A/C was on high, and I had the time.) Although I camp, do outdoorsy things, and use items like folding camp tables and lanterns, there was absolutely nothing in there that I wanted to purchase.

The stuffed animals are incredible to see; some of the taxidermy is very well done and you can study, say, the group of stampeding wildebeasts looking for the "kickstands." The fox suspended in midair pouncing on the oblivious prairie dog is real cute. I tried to appreciate them as art, but they were formerly living animals that someone "harvested," and probably not as roadkill. There's a group of water buffalo and I wondered if the display person decided that they needed someone to bring in a juvenile critter, to round out the "family" grouping, or if Ma & Pa Cabela decided to "collect" it. By the time I reached the African setting, I was burned out from looking at the other hundreds of mounts.

My nieces recently moved to Michigan and I told them that Cabela's is worth a one-time stop. Since I mentioned Frankenmuth, I should state that downtown Dundee has not seen a wonderful benefit from the new stuff; it's all in the township.

[GRDadof3]

Wow, thanks for the run-down Veloise! I too stopped at Cabela's once. We take the kids to Bronners every year before Christmas (in-laws are in Saginaw), and they have some pretty cool projects built recently in downtown Frankenmuth, unlike Dundee. It almost has a European flair to it because of its compactness and obviously Swiss chalet styles to all of the buildings. And the whole downtown stretch of retail is pushed right out to the street (what a concept), and then they have parking lots either behind or you park along the streets. Of course, Bronners is pretty "big box-ish".

[joeDowntown]

They were actually competing projects, not two different locations. The mall in Walker was supposed to be more highscale (Neiman Marcus, etc.) than Rivertown.

Joe

The Cabellas if it went in at 4 mile and walker would be where the "Happy Apple" Orchards are. Back when Rivertown was on the Drawing board, there were two locations being discussed, 44th and Wilson, and 4 MIle and Walker. The people in Walker were campaigning hard to NOT get the Mall at that corner, and it eventually paid off, and it went to 44th and Wilson.

[snoogit]

They were actually competing projects, not two different locations. The mall in Walker was supposed to be more highscale (Neiman Marcus, etc.) than Rivertown.

Joe

Thats what I heard to, but I got the impression those names were just thrown in to try and quell the naysayers.

[GRDadof3]

Developer Proposes Retail, Home Project

"The first question: Was the sprawling retail building shown on the southeast 60 acres featuring nearly 600,000 square-feet of retail and hotel space a Cabela's?

"We're trying to do that," Carter said. " I don't want to represent that it's done by any means.""

[GRDadof3]

Walker prepares for village

A new update about the proposed retail village at 4 Mile and Walker. They're also throwing around IKEA's name as well

Interesting that the VP of Meijer wants the Master Plan to EXCLUDE a Meijer or Walmart from being built at the site.

[snoogit]

Walker prepares for village

A new update about the proposed retail village at 4 Mile and Walker. They're also throwing around IKEA's name as well

Interesting that the VP of Meijer wants the Master Plan to EXCLUDE a Meijer or Walmart from being built at the site.

Why not both Ikea, and Cabella's? and the Meijer thing doesn't surprise me, that area is so close to Alpine that if you put one there, your just going to cause even more bleeding from the Alpine stores.

[GaryP]

Walker prepares for village

A new update about the proposed retail village at 4 Mile and Walker. They're also throwing around IKEA's name as well

Interesting that the VP of Meijer wants the Master Plan to EXCLUDE a Meijer or Walmart from being built at the site.

I can't believe IKEA's name hasnt drawn more attention; I for one would be ecstatic if that were to happen

[Mark Miller]

The article link is titled: Walker prepares for "village".

This is the first line of the article: Imagine a "small village" on Walker Avenue NW between Four Mile Road and Int. 96 where brownstones and traditional homes were linked by trails connected to retailers such as Cabela's or Ikea. "

I guess that the term village needs to be in quotes, because how many villages have one or two big boxes? Particularly big boxes of this magnitude?

I have no problem with creating this kind of place to try to give Walker a sense of place and I really do hope that they can pull it off. But the insertion of these kind of big boxes into an urban fabric is problematic for many reasons. The shear size of these buildings and there required parking lots present absolute horrendous urbanism.

I have no idea how big a typical Cabelas is, but I believe that IKEA's are typically around 200,000 square feet. That is an immense footprint to try to make urban.

One possible solution to disguising these buildings is to create liner retail buildings around their perimeter that can actually aid in creating a streetscape. The problem is that most IKEA stores that I have seen actually use their building as a large maize and blue icon, so hiding it behind liner buildings may be problematic to their overall scheme.

Another way to help urbanize them is to make them two or three stories with windows and not large blank block walls.

Does anyone know of urbanized IKEA stores in NYC or elsewhere?

I know Home Depot and Target have urban prototypes, but land costs in Walker are obviously not what they are in NYC and may prohibit them from building to that level.

[Ted]

The article link is titled: Walker prepares for "village".

This is the first line of the article: Imagine a "small village" on Walker Avenue NW between Four Mile Road and Int. 96 where brownstones and traditional homes were linked by trails connected to retailers such as Cabela's or Ikea. "

I guess that the term village needs to be in quotes, because how many villages have one or two big boxes? Particularly big boxes of this magnitude?

I have no problem with creating this kind of place to try to give Walker a sense of place and I really do hope that they can pull it off. But the insertion of these kind of big boxes into an urban fabric is problematic for many reasons. The shear size of these buildings and there required parking lots present absolute horrendous urbanism.

I have no idea how big a typical Cabelas is, but I believe that IKEA's are typically around 200,000 square feet. That is an immense footprint to try to make urban.

One possible solution to disguising these buildings is to create liner retail buildings around their perimeter that can actually aid in creating a streetscape. The problem is that most IKEA stores that I have seen actually use their building as a large maize and blue icon, so hiding it behind liner buildings may be problematic to their overall scheme.

Another way to help urbanize them is to make them two or three stories with windows and not large blank block walls.

Does anyone know of urbanized IKEA stores in NYC or elsewhere?

I know Home Depot and Target have urban prototypes, but land costs in Walker are obviously not what they are in NYC and may prohibit them from building to that level.

The new IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn is going to be a trick - but I think they're mowing down crap right and left to make it work. There's also a new Home Depot in Manhattan - lower west side, I believe - that might be a better bigbox/urban example. Both, however are right next to major freeway interchanges.

Both sites have massive existing infrastructure and massive people counts to blind the retail real estate kids with visons of customers willing to put up with the 'inconveniences' of urban shopping.

[torgo]

I think most big boxes have a few "urban" prototypes. If I am not mistaken, the big new urban development in Denver (built on an old airport) attracted a bunch of stores typically found in the burbs with a gazillion acres of parking. i don't know how well it turned out though...

[Prankster]

From the sounds of it, Walker is going to have to really step up to the plate to land Cabella's. According to someone in their building department, Cabella's is looking for the city of Walker to build them their very own exit ramp off of I-96. Not sure how steadfast they are on that demand, but it is one of the requirements currently on the table.

[Nitro]

There's also a new Home Depot in Manhattan - lower west side, I believe -

My understanding of the Home Depot in Manhattan is that it functions more like one of their Home Depot Expo stores then the lumber yard.

I think they are trying to hit more of the designer showroom market then the grizzley-bearded subcontractor type.

Ever try to get on the subway with an 8' 2x4?

[twoshort]

SoHo Home Depot:

Downtown Chicago Home Depot:

Minneapolis Target:

[Rizzo]

Yah, good luck finding a grizzley bearded sub-contractor rumaging in that 'trendy' Home Depot...

[GR8scott]

From the sounds of it, Walker is going to have to really step up to the plate to land Cabella's. According to someone in their building department, Cabella's is looking for the city of Walker to build them their very own exit ramp off of I-96. Not sure how steadfast they are on that demand, but it is one of the requirements currently on the table.

I bet they want the exit at walker ave. rebuilt because it goes from 5 lanes to a 2 lane bridge and then opens up again.

I think Walker is such a patchy dis-oriented city that they could build anything there and it wouldn't do anything to affect its "charactor" and a village of this type might fit in well next to the farm fields, meijer HQ, and 80s retail along alpine. I'm sure if they built a bix box there it would be like the urbanized ones shown above, but they will blend it in with the surroundings. just my thought

Also, I though that IKEA was going to build at the waterfalls

[torgo]

Ever try to get on the subway with an 8' 2x4?

Or what about a couple 12' long sheets of drywall?

[Rizzo]

Foget carying that crap all together... Imagin putting up thoes same sheets on the celling with just a "T", box of screws, and a good ol' fashion philips...oh and everyone who's supposed to be working, looking at you thinking "ahh, thats to hard for me to do, let the tall man do it, yah" nice........