Plainfield Ave. Meijer Construction Updates

[tamias6]

Ha! There was McDonald's Express located in the Alpine Meijer's Mezzanine as well. I used to find it humorous that there was (and still is) a full Blown McDonald's directly across the street from the Alpine Meijer.

Cafeteria actually. For years it was operated by Meijer. It served double duty as a place for shoppers to get a snack and a lunch room for Meijer employees. I remember eating many a lunch up there while shopping with my mom.

After Meijer got sick of operating it turned into a "McDonald's Express", which were the McDonald-esque restaurants that showed up in malls and stores. I think North Kent Mall had one for a time too. That lasted a year or two then it just closed down entirely.

[pcdoctor]

Yeah I remember eating in that little McDonald's in the Alpine Meijer when it was there. I still wish either it or something was still up there. I would like to know why they closed it and turned it into an employee breakroom. So basically from what you are saying, after the McDonald's closed down at plainfield meijer, nothing has taken it's place?

Oh and while we are talking about the Alpine McDonald's, I do want to warn you that some of the employees from there have told me that things aren't going so well. Equipment isn't getting proper care until it breaks down, and other stuff. I don't really believe it though. I work at the West Leonard one and I know we do our best to take care of all the equipment there.

Ha! There was McDonald's Express located in the Alpine Meijer's Mezzanine as well. I used to find it humorous that there was (and still is) a full Blown McDonald's directly across the street from the Alpine Meijer.

[highwayguy]

There were many Meijer stores that added a McDonald's in the mid 90s. Aside from the two already mentioned there were also McDonald's in the 28th St & Kalamazoo Ave store, and in the Okemos store in the Lansing area. I know this because I ate at both of them. The one in the 28th St store was the only fast food restaurant open one Thanksgiving evening when I couldn't stand the thought of any more turkey. The one in Okemos was one of the few fast food restaurant locations to have a lobby that was open 24 hours, and as a result, it would attract a lot of MSU students at night. I can remember there not even being an open seat on a few occasions, partly because some people thought it would also make for a good place to study. I'm not sure why Meijer eliminated them, because I have to assume that they made money. I know Meijer has tried a few other restaurant ideas since then, such as the cafeteria concept they had at the Knapp's Corner store when it first opened, but those don't seem to have taken off either. It seems to me that the new stores have now eliminated any cafeteria concept all together. As an interesting sidenote, almost every Wal-Mart Supercenter I have been to has had a McDonald's in the front corner of the store, usually near the "grocery" entrance.

[tamias6]

I do remember eating at the Knapp Corner Meijer's cafeteria. The food was great. But the only down side is there was no definitive place with a clearly obvious menu board of cafeteria food offerings to order one's meal which I found a bit confusing. All new Meijer stores still feature a sit down cafe next to the deli. The new Plainfield store and the post-renovation Alpine Store will be no exception. However Meijer still needs to post clearly written menu boards of the cafe food offerings. They do have menu boards for the deli offerings and take-out meals. But the meals for the cafe's are usually printed on a laminated sheet of paper sitting on top of or beside the hot foods display cases.

Oh speaking of Meijer cafe's the one located at the Standale Meijer store on Lake Michigan and Wilson, has the best mash potatoes and gravy on the planet. The fried chicken is not half bad either.

[Chelle D]

Years ago I worked at the Muskegon Meijer and we too had the Express McD's. We liked it but I think it was used mostly by employees and "kids" hanging out. Also, the Wal-Mart in Muskegon has a Subway at the front (the one on Sherman).

[highwayguy]

All new Meijer stores still feature a sit down cafe next to the deli.

[Eridony]

Years ago I worked at the Muskegon Meijer and we too had the Express McD's. We liked it but I think it was used mostly by employees and "kids" hanging out. Also, the Wal-Mart in Muskegon has a Subway at the front (the one on Sherman).

[tamias6]

I would assume one of two things or a combination of both. One, perhaps Meijer's relations with McD's went south for some reason. Or two, McD's would conflict with Meijer's cafe's that would make an appearance in store concepts beginning with the Knapp Corner Meijer's generation of stores. Personally I'm leaning towards the later assumption as not too long after the Knapp Corner store was first constructed newly built stores and those renovated during that time period where modeled after the Knapp Corner store.

Ha, I worked at that Meijer as well. I remember when I was a kid there was a cafeteria there as well which than became the McDonalds Express. I wonder why Meijer got rid of all the McDonalds after only a few a years.

[michguy582]

the construction fences are up and the ground is excavated

[tamias6]

Construction Update:

As planned the rear half of the property has been fenced off and is in various stages of excavation and grade work. For those that like Tim Allen toys the construction site for at least the next couple of days to a week will be most satisfying to watch as an assortment of front end loaders, and massive open pit mine style dump trucks are in action making quick work of the excavation and grading phase of the construction process.

While there, I took a quick trip inside the store and got a good look at the renderings. Basically the new store will look very similar to post renovation Alpine Meijer.

So here are couple of photos of the excavation and grading work.

Former location of old outlet store

Also here are a couple of image shots of my model of both Plainfield Meijer stores. The old store is a an accurate model of the real thing. Meanwhile the second model roughly shows what the new Plainfield Meijer will look like and how it will be positioned on the property based on what what I've seen of the construction site and renderings today.

Position of the new store

Old and New Stores

Old Store

New Store

[pr sc]

tamias6, I don't know how you do what you did (nor what you really call the pics). However, I like the one with the old and new stores depicted on what looks like an arial view (?). I can see the spot in the parking lot where my car died in the snow my last winter living in GR (1971). I do love how talented you all are. I'll keep checking back on the progress.

Oh, do I remember apartments or something, if you look to the left and back between the positions of the old & new stores?

[pcdoctor]

When you say that the new plainfield store will be similar to the Alpine store, will that mean that the retail is still on the left side and groceries on the right like it is at the current Alpine meijer store, or will it be groceries on the left and retail on the right??

[tamias6]

Like the Alpine Meijer and the current Plainfeild Store the new Plainfeild Store will likely have groceries on the right hand side and retail on the left.

Added to that, the posted architectual renderings of the store depicts a facade that is very similar in appearance to that of the renovated Alpine Meijer. However at only 195,000 sq. ft. vs. the upgraded Alpine Meijer's 220,000+ sq. ft. the building will have a less sprawling impression. Along with that the roof looks to be set at 25 ft in height in the front with a slight front to back grade down to about 18 - 20 feet. This will result in a taller front facade than the Alpine Store. In contrast the back will be squat in appeaerance.

Even though there are no interior renderings, I have a hutch that the renovated Alpine Store's layout is the prototype to how the new Plainfeild store will be laid out. The sales floor of the Alpine Store is roughly 150,000 sq. ft. Small for a 220,000+ sq. ft building? Yes. That's because allot of space is taken up big old fashion backrooms meant to hold stock for long periods of time before being placed on the sales floor. Also don't forget the Alpine Store's Mezzinine which is included in that store's sq. footage. However with the small and highly efficent backrooms called for in Meijer's current store format, the Alpine Store's sales floor would only need a slight reduction in size to make it fit into the new Plainfeild Store's 195,000 sq. ft. foot print.

In short, take the Alpine Store's sales floor and its new front facade, a new Meijer's compact backrooms, put them together, and --presto-- we have the new Plainfeild Meijer.

When you say that the new plainfield store will be similar to the Alpine store, will that mean that the retail is still on the left side and groceries on the right like it is at the current Alpine meijer store, or will it be groceries on the left and retail on the right??

[highwayguy]

This article was in today's GR Press:

Plainfield Avenue face-lift wins approval

The reason I am posting this here is the last paragraph:

"Township officials see a bright spot on the horizon with Walker-based retailer Meijer Inc. planning to raze its 48-year-old store at 3757 Plainfield Ave. NE after construction of a 192,000-square-foot supercenter and 10,000-square-foot outlet store is completed next spring."

Does this mean the move of the outlet store to Alpine Ave is only temporary? In my opinion, Plainfield Ave is a better location for it.

[tamias6]

The outlets store's original building now demolished looked to be about 10,000 sq. ft in size. Secondly I have not heard about the outlet returning to Plainfield when the new Meijer store is complete though. I also can't imagine Meijer expecting the outlet store's Plainfield customer base traveling all the way to its new Alpine Ave. location. So it might be a little confusion on the reporters part when he said that the outlet store's current location is temporary. However, the transition from old Meijer to new Meijer is still in the very early stages so we will see what happens in due time.

This article was in today's GR Press:

Plainfield Avenue face-lift wins approval

The reason I am posting this here is the last paragraph:

"Township officials see a bright spot on the horizon with Walker-based retailer Meijer Inc. planning to raze its 48-year-old store at 3757 Plainfield Ave. NE after construction of a 192,000-square-foot supercenter and 10,000-square-foot outlet store is completed next spring."

Does this mean the move of the outlet store to Alpine Ave is only temporary? In my opinion, Plainfield Ave is a better location for it.

[tamias6]

Construction Update:

For right now not much has changed since my last visit. However allot of the grading work is done. Also stakes have been laid marking out the new store's perimeter. So one will now get a basic sense of how the new store will be positioned on the property. From what I can tell, the store will be situated as far to the back of the property as possible. Also the new store will run parallel with Plainfield Ave. for greater visibility. Next according to a long time employee I spoke with, if one were to stand in the parking lot and face the new store, groceries will be to the right while general merchandise and the garden center will be to the left just as they are in the old store.

My Plainfield Meijer Experience:

As I said before not much has changed at the construction site since my last visit. So Instead scouting the property and snapping photos of the construction site, I decided to go inside the old store and have a good look around. My conclusion is that Meijer's decision to build anew instead of renovating is a very wise choice as I shall explain.

Being that store's main parking lot area is currently overcrowded due to the construction, I decided to park next the gas station and enter the store via the back entry. Though the facade work looks fine and well cared for, the aesthetic appearance of the automatic doors were in pretty rough shape from over 30 years of wear and tear. Also one of the doors had a piece of heavy gauge sheet metal riveted to its bottom half to keep it from falling apart. Now in home decorating its a good idea to have a nice looking entry door to give a good first impression. Impress, these entry doors clearly did not.

I entered the store and the first thing to greet me were the back checkout lanes enclosed in a 30 foot square space defined by three walls and one of the general merchandise aisles that filled the entire space from floor to ceiling. The low ceiling, only 10 feet high in this area, and poor lighting completed the claustrophobic impression that hit me like a ton of bricks. Knowing what a Swanson TV dinner feels like, I immediately knew such fashion forward design terms such as sight lines, openness, etc. were not in this old horse's vocabulary.

And so I pressed on walking up and down the narrow aisles that practically loomed over my head. I felt like an ant in an old cemetery. Again the ceilings were very low and lighting poor. Further adding to the cramped conditions were hopelessly dated store graphics some how squeezed between the very high aisles and low ceiling. Instead of doing their purpose of enticing me to buy, buy, buy, they felt more like stalactites that said leave, leave, leave. The fact that this store began life long ago as a factory made itself quite clear as a network of large clunky cast iron pipes and structural beams crisscrossed the dank and yellowed drop ceiling like some kind of mechanical spider web. Further painting a dungeon like atmosphere was the dark stone gray carpet in the clothing dept. absorbing the lighting sputtered out by old flickering florescent fixtures. This made the ceiling surrounding the fixtures appear to be as black as night.

I made my way to one of the concourses to catch my breath from the cramped conditions. No such luck. Even the concourses were narrow. With the heavy use of this store by its customers, these concourses felt more like the S-Curve's rush hour traffic squeezed onto an old gravel road. Like the Alpine Store before its renovation began, decor was hopelessly dated making the entire ambiance of the sales floor feel more like an old morgue rather than a fine retail space.

Finding what you are looking for? Forget it! This old store does not know the meaning of adjacencies. Product placements and arrangements are best described as wily nilly for lack of a better term. CD were in one side of the store, the pharmacy way and gone in the back, movies on the other side, pets supplies tucked away in some obscure corner. For heaven's sake, I felt like the kid and mother lost the hedge labyrinth in Steven King's "The Shinning" be chased by the movie's psychopathic villain.

Fortunately, when I made my way to the grocery section, I fond some relieve from the coffin like conditions. In fact its a polar contrast to the hemmed in retail section. I found the wide aisles, decent lighting, and lofty 25 foot high ceilings very welcoming. Layout and product placement was as one would expect. The Produce dept. had a pleasing appearance. The Bakery, Deli, and Meats & Seafood counters were inviting. The products they featured were very well presented. There was even a special section dedicated to organic produce. Along with that, organic based products galore could be seen though out the grocery aisles. In short, the Plainfield Meijer is a health nut's nirvana compared to any other Meijer.

But even though the grocery section was this store's strongest virtue, there is no denying that it too is succumbing to the relentless forces of time. Though the grocery section along with the rest of the store where spotlessly clean and very well kept. I could not help but detect a faint musty smell in the grocery section. The coolers also had a weird old smell too. The fit and finishes of the frozen food aisle's coolers had clear signs of wear and tear. The 20+ year old floor though out the entire store was worn. In some of the heavily trafficked areas, the speckled pattern on the floor tile was worn away.

Now one would ask, "Why couldn't Meijer renovate the old store like they are doing to the Alpine Ave. location?" That would be a logical question since the Plainfield Meijer and Alpine Meijer are similar in size in age. The Answer to that is lurking above the Plainfield Meijer's very low ceilings. Even though that answer cannot be seen from outside, nor from inside, it is so evident it can be seen from the air. In fact, the reason why the ceilings are so low is so blatantly obvious it can even be observed via Google Earth with crystal clarity. Deeply Inset below the roof line, driving down the ceiling height like a sledge hammer are three barrel vaulted roofs covering nearly 80% of the store's retail section. Added to that the facade work on the buildings SE side obscures an even lower roof line as well. These low roofs date all the way back to the store's life as a humble little factory. Since it would be far too costly to raise the height of the roof over the retail section, the Plainfield Meijer was doomed to have a date with the wrecking ball right from the start. It was only a matter of time.

My overall impression of the store was that of being cramped, closed in, and trapped in the maze of a fun house gone mad. Basically, if it were not for the fact I was pushing a shopping cart I would not be able to tell the difference between shopping in this store and spelunking in some uncharted cave. Don't get me wrong, the Plainfield Meijer is an alright store to do one's shopping. In fact back in the day of the old store's grand opening as a Thrifty Acres, it must have been just as impressive to customers as the new Plainfield Meijer will be when it makes its grand opening a year from now. But Meijer has pushed this building to the max. It cannot be pushed no more. If a competitor such as Wal-Mart or Target were somehow built next door, the old Plainfield Meijer would be obliterated in a Tsunami of competition. That leaves Meijer only two option for this location, destroy the old and built anew or hang the dreaded going-out-of-business-sale banner.

On that note, I have this to say to the old Plainfield Meijer.

"Though you may been a shinning light of retail and faithfully provided your owners a venue to sells their wears to many a satisfied customers for many decades, there comes a time when the cash registers and scanners must be passed on. So fare thee well as you make your way to the Great Retail Space in the Sky."

[GR1]

Being that store's main parking lot area is currently overcrowded due to the construction, I decided to park next the gas station and enter the store via the back entry. Though the facade work looks fine and well cared for, the aesthetic appearance of the automatic doors were in pretty rough shape from over 30 years of wear and tear. Also one of the doors had a piece of heavy gauge sheet metal riveted to its bottom half to keep it from falling apart. Now in home decorating its a good idea to have a nice looking entry door to give a good first impression. Impress, these entry doors clearly did not.

[pcdoctor]

Wow! So I see. Well then, are the lights in the grocery section similar to the ones found in the Alpine store? Which door did the little girl get caught in? Why don't they try to fix the doors/sensors for now until the new store is opened up? From what you described, that can't be 195,000 sq ft of space in the store. Are there drop ceilings in the retail section of the store? But yeah, they better do something to that door that hit the little girl and the other doors as well. I would think meijer could get sued or into really big trouble had that little girl gotten injured.

Another reason that I could think of why the meijer store is being rebuilt rather than being renovated is the fact that the e4 dept would otherwise be back by the back retail entrance and there's a bit of parking in that area too. It would be a big inconvience for customers to have to park back there and walk all the way around to the front retail entrance.

[GR1]

Wow! So I see. Well then, are the lights in the grocery section similar to the ones found in the Alpine store? Which door did the little girl get caught in? Why don't they try to fix the doors/sensors for now until the new store is opened up? From what you described, that can't be 195,000 sq ft of space in the store. Are there drop ceilings in the retail section of the store? But yeah, they better do something to that door that hit the little girl and the other doors as well. I would think meijer could get sued or into really big trouble had that little girl gotten injured.

[tamias6]

Here's another sad illustration of how desperate the situation is at the old Plainfield Store and the need for a new store. When I was checking out yesterday, I was talking to the 60 some odd year old cashier about the new store's construction. She worked at the old Plainfield Meijer store since it's super market days way back in the 70's. I asked her if she would miss the old store when it finally comes down. She replied "Nope. Just the memories." Then with a gleeful smile across her face she said, "I want to be a part of the wrecking crew!"

[FilmMaker]

Then with a gleeful smile across her face she said, "I want to be a part of the wrecking crew!"

[tamias6]

There could very well be some volatility in those rumors. When the new Ionia Meijer was completed. A similar event was held to start the demolition of the old store. . However the winner of the contest got to drive a bull dozer through the old store. If such a contest where indeed held at the old Plainfield Meijer, consider me there.

"Clean up in Aisle 9." *crash* *boom* "Uhh...Never mind."

Don't quote me on this, but I may have overheard some quiet scuttlebutt that suggests Meijer may actually organize some sort of charitable raffle where the winner gets to "swing the first sledge hammer" to knock the old place down so-to-speak. And even if this isn't true, I think it would be a cool contest to conduct (barring any potential liability issues). I love the visual in my head of common folk lined up to take their turn at the controls of a large excavation machine!

Although not a gleaming example of cutting edge development techniques, I must say that I am still pretty proud to be one of the township officials who helped shape (and approve) the final outcome of this project. I'm really looking forward to how this will hopefully inspire a long term resurrection of the Plainfield Corridor.

[Veloise]

Don't quote me on this, but I may have overheard some quiet scuttlebutt that suggests Meijer may actually organize some sort of charitable raffle where the winner gets to "swing the first sledge hammer" to knock the old place down so-to-speak. And even if this isn't true, I think it would be a cool contest to conduct (barring any potential liability issues). I love the visual in my head of common folk lined up to take their turn at the controls of a large excavation machine!...

[pcdoctor]

Tamias: Which door was it that had the sheet metal on it? Anything else I must know before I decide to eventually take a trip to that store? Also, anyone else who usually goes there and sees wierd stuff happening, feel free to let us know.

[tamias6]

Its the back retail entrance located on the SE corner of the store.

Here's a shot of my Plainfield Meijer Sketchup File's back retail entrance to illustrate....

Tamias: Which door was it that had the sheet metal on it? Anything else I must know before I decide to eventually take a trip to that store? Also, anyone else who usually goes there and sees wierd stuff happening, feel free to let us know.