A couple of obscure Grand Rapids malls

[Nitro]

The North Kent Mall was flanked by KMart, and Montgomery Wards. The free-standing movie theater is STILL there, but I think the auto dealership finally bought it ???? People are rumored to buy that place every other week it seems like.

Don't forget the pretzel peddler

And the Wards is now a Quality Farm and Fleet, or something like that type of store.

Yes, the movie theater was bought by K&M and they are moving part of their operation into that building. Used cars, I think. It went through Plainfield Planning Commission a couple of weeks ago.

Stores that I remember in addition to what has been mentioned are: Record Town, Dutch Deli, Fanny Farmer, Clares, Way back in the day there was a Spencer's and an Onion Crock, Foot Locker, Plainfield Department Store, William Klines. Music Land, Radio Shack, Gantos, CVS, and probably a few others I've forgotten.

Wards has actually been divided among Dunham's, Dollar Tree, and now some sort of store named Farm and Family.

[Sunlover38]

I am pretty sure that there was never a Gap there . . . . that was a sad little mall . . .but a fun thing to do on a Saturday afternoon . . In 9th grade I had a friend who lived in that area and we would ride our bikes up there and check out the cute guys working at Silvermans . . . and shop at Casual Corner and goof off in K-Mart . . ah the memories of carefree youth . . . .

[GRGyp]

The location and infrastructure certainly has done in Plainfield. There was really only two ways into that shopping corridor: Northland Drive and the I-96/Plainfield interchange.

The Grand River was at the back of the mall, which pretty effectively cut it off from anyone wanting to come in from the northwest/west side of the river. When the Alpine strip opened up, Plainfield just died because of this. What basically was a commercial area set up to serve a small section of north GR proper, GR Township, Plainfield, Rockford, and Sparta; became an area that only serviced north GR, Plainfield, and GR township. None of those areas saw any real growth during that time, and so the mall just faded away since Alpine was easier to get to from the north side of the river.

The sad thing is, after the mall shutdown they extended Jupiter to bridge over the Grand River. If that bridge would of been there in the first place, I wonder if things could have been different for the Plainfield corridor. By the time bridge did open, however, Plainfield was already going into it's death rolls and nobody wanted to go there anyway.

It now has the stigma of being stripmall hell and an area in decline. The northern Forest Hills area is now seeing good growth, but it looks like the East Beltline is going to be the area built up to feed this area commercially, which will only cause Plainfield to decline further IMHO.

[MJLO]

I have a feeling Plainfield has pretty much hit it's bottom in terms of Decline, it really can only dwell there, One thing, tho you have to keep in mind is that Plainfield from 96' to Northland still handles a good amount of Traffic, It's still well traveled, I think part of the reason the retail has been Dying off is due in large part to there not being any real anchor on the street. You really can only find local mom and pop joints. Specialty stores. All the Major Retail is five minutes to the east on the East Beltline, and Five Minutes to the west on Alpine.

[snoogit]

I have a feeling Plainfield has pretty much hit it's bottom in terms of Decline, it really can only dwell there, One thing, tho you have to keep in mind is that Plainfield from 96' to Northland still handles a good amount of Traffic, It's still well traveled, I think part of the reason the retail has been Dying off is due in large part to there not being any real anchor on the street. You really can only find local mom and pop joints. Specialty stores. All the Major Retail is five minutes to the east on the East Beltline, and Five Minutes to the west on Alpine.

Plainfield is the only place in GR where a Super Wal-mart might be a benefit for the community. Its sad, but true.

Quick someone stop them from building it on Alpine!

[MJLO]

Are they really building it on Alpine? That depresses me. I dislike Walmart Passionately.

[Nitro]

Plainfield is the only place in GR where a Super Wal-mart might be a benefit for the community. Its sad, but true.

Bite your tongue Snoogit. We don't want that crap around there. I'll fight that one to the death.

[snoogit]

Bite your tongue Snoogit. We don't want that crap around there. I'll fight that one to the death.

consider it bitten.

But you did let a Lowes move in

[MJLO]

well Lowe's does contribute to sprawl, but they are by no means the evil empire from Arkansas

[Nitro]

well Lowe's does contribute to sprawl, but they are by no means the evil empire from Arkansas

Lowe's is fine in my book. Anybody but Wal-Mart. If you had said Costco I would have been receptive. Costco treats their employees fairly and pays them a decent wage. Wal Mart is really satin in disguise.

[MJLO]

Lowe's is fine in my book. Anybody but Wal-Mart. If you had said Costco I would have been receptive. Costco treats their employees fairly and pays them a decent wage. Wal Mart is really satin in disguise.

Nitro, Satin is fabric used for sexy sheets, Walmart is SatAn however!

[snoogit]

Wal Mart is really satin in disguise.

Being a former UFCW member I can agree with that, but what is Wal-mart doing at Mark London's place?

[Nitro]

Nitro, Satin is fabric used for sexy sheets, Walmart is SatAn however!

My fingers work quicker then my brain......forgive.

[snoogit]

My fingers work quicker then my brain......forgive.

I figured it was another one of your Freudian slips

[MJLO]

are you saying deep down Nitro wants to get "into bed" with Walmart?

[Nitro]

I figured it was another one of your Freudian slips

It happens.......although most days its more like tourettes

[snoogit]

It happens.......although most days its more like tourettes

Especially when you hear "Wal-mart"?

[mgreven]

Especially when you hear "Wal-mart"?

1) So isn't there a Plainfield thread now?

2) Any one have more memories of Kentwood Village and Grand Village?

[grandrollerz]

Darn sale of the Greenridge Country Club.

I remember the fun of being a caddy at Kent Country Club, you could see the Greenridge GC from the 18th green at Kent CC and vice versa.

Remember the cafeteria inside KMart? or that restaraunt that had the giant Onion on it (The Crockery?).

Someone mentioned there being two statues and a fountian in Norht Kent, what was the other one? I know the guy with the bird, what was the other one?

[Nitro]

Remember the cafeteria inside KMart? or that restaraunt that had the giant Onion on it (The Crockery?).

I remember both the cafeteria in the back of Kmart near the mall entrance and the Deli that used to be right at the front door when you came in.

The restaurant that you are thinking of was the Onion Crock. It was down next to Spencers.

[Trixie]

Who can remember all the "hip" stores at NKM in the 70's???

Maryanne

Jean Nicole

Chess King

Just Pants

Just Jeans

Orange Julius

Spencer Gifts

Wards

KMart

Baker Shoes

There was some video arcade there, too I think.

Plainfield has sort of gone downhill.

Anyone remember Turnstyle? How about Robert Hall? The Turnstyle building turned into the Meijer offices, and now Frontline Church has purchased it.

Trixie

[Trixie]

Sorry. I didn't address Kentwood Village Mall.

There was a Big Boy restaurant in there for a while (I think). A drugstore. Frankly, that mall was so short lived I don't think too many people even got a chance to shop there. The orriginal developers went belly up very quickly. There were some money management/fingers in the till issues too. Now it's a medical billing office and JC Penney call center. Some other office is there too. Meijer Gas has a stand alone station in the parking lot, and Mr. Burger is there as well.

[snoogit]

Who can remember all the "hip" stores at NKM in the 70's???

Chess King

Chess King?

Who were the super cool hipsters who shopped there?

[mgreven]

Sorry. I didn't address Kentwood Village Mall.

There was a Big Boy restaurant in there for a while (I think).

I remember spending a lot of time there for a few years in it's heyday as a kid. I remember it being quite full and had lots of activities. We rode our bike there a lot...it was a fun, safe place to hang out as a young kid, we knew all the store owners and I even remember winning some kind of blocks and marble stacking contest at the toy store. I posted all the tenants I could remember earlier...I can still visualize almost the whole thing. I know the restaurant was Jody's like the one in Rockford.

[Phizzy]

Was it ever a "re" birth? I don't think Alpine really every had any decline. Once the golf-course got the ax, things really started picking up, IMO.

What I mean is, Alpine grew to a point, with Meijer, K-Mart, etc., and then the growth virtually stopped. After the golf course land was sold, development picked up (in a big way) and it continues to this day.