Spartan Plans New Store For Georgetown Twp.

[NorthCoast]

Over the years I've mentioned on this board how Spartan had been rumored to be looking to consolidate their two Georgetown locations at 20th/Baldwin and Port Sheldon/28th into one single store located at 28th/Baldwin on the current site of the Georgetown Little League fields (which would be relocated to Bauer Road just east of the Ice Center near 48th Ave. Looks like they are going forward with it. The pre-app meeting is May 6.

http://www.gtwp.com/minutes/pcminutes/P200...06/pc090506.htm

The site plan is uninspiring to say the least. The standard, suburban look. A supermarket flanked by a commerical retail strip with outlots.

Even though the stores they plan on replacing are both dated I really can't say I'm crazy about this plan. For several reasons...

-It is going to leave two 40,000 sq. ft. buildings completely vacant in the township in already established commercial areas.

-It is going to add more commercial in a dire economy to an area that can't even fill the spaces it currently has.

-The township already has several commercial similar commercial areas and really doesn't need another one.

-Commercial uses will not fit in well with the surrounding area of the intersection which is two churches and single/multi family res. (not to mention the affected parcels aren't even zoned commercial)

-The site plan lacks any real creativity or character

The PC is also in the process of updating the master plan so hopefully they take some of these issues into consideration. However, this is the community that has let Taco Bell and soon McDonalds (on Baldwin) to build their structures completely sideways in terms of orientation to the road.

[JoeSchmo]

I would agree.

This is pretty dissatisfying. Georgetown is an area that has a lot of potential and did claim the highest growth rates in the Grand Rapids area.

Id agree, this is spreading commercial area too large. Jenison I believe is already facing the results of this. The demand is so low for commercial buildings in the area that dollar stores fill the spots. I am guessing there are 10 dollar stores in Georgetown..jenison included (just a guess). Dollar stores always prop up where commercial space is in low demand. Another large empty commercial building is the old Kmart or (briefly ABC Warehouse) behind that McDonalds that has been pretty much empty for almost 2 decades. I think its time for Georgetown to actually start focusing on acting like a town for once. It has the ability to be picky it should act like it.

On the other hand business wise this makes a lot of sense as it shifts the one family fare further away from the Hudsonvillle Family Fare and the D&W further from the Jenison Meijer. Also the center of Georgetown may be shifting towards this area. Long term there may possibly be a second high school for Hudsonville built in this area.

I would also agree the Georgetown severely lacks vision. If Georgetown was smart they would start to build somewhat of an urban town center here much like East Grand Rapids did near Reeds Lake. There is also Hagar park right next door. This has potential to be a decent area with value added. But as you said its my guess they will plop an ugly strip mall with little integration within the community.

Ugg...suburbs.

[NorthCoast]

http://www.mlive.com/grandvalleyadvance/in...nners_open.html

Township Board approves the project, overuling recommendation from Planning Commission and private planning consultant that had recommended denial.

This is a double-edged sword.

Did the area need a modern supermarket? Yes.

Did the area need modern little league fields? Yes.

However...

-The plan does not comply with the current zoning map or the master plan.

-The Township will be establishing yet another commercial intersection along Baldwin. (Which, outside of the main business district, already has clusters at the 20th Ave intersection and 36th Ave intersection, both sites appoximately one block east and west of the new site, respecitvely.)

- The Township will now be left with two vacant buildings. Spartan owns one and has a vested interest to fill it but the other is owned by an outside party and is a condition that no business will probably want it.

-More land for commercial use has been set aside even though there isn't enough economic activity occurring in the are to fillt he empty spots they currently have.

I'm happy for the Little League families and the Family Fare employees for both getting much needed and deserved upgrades but in terms of economic demand and land use...this does not make sense.

[fotoman311]

http://www.mlive.com/grandvalleyadvance/in...nners_open.html

Township Board approves the project, overuling recommendation from Planning Commission and private planning consultant that had recommended denial.

This is a double-edged sword.

Did the area need a modern supermarket? Yes.

Did the area need modern little league fields? Yes.

However...

-The plan does not comply with the current zoning map or the master plan.

-The Township will be establishing yet another commercial intersection along Baldwin. (Which, outside of the main business district, already has clusters at the 20th Ave intersection and 36th Ave intersection, both sites appoximately one block east and west of the new site, respecitvely.)

- The Township will now be left with two vacant buildings. Spartan owns one and has a vested interest to fill it but the other is owned by an outside party and is a condition that no business will probably want it.

-More land for commercial use has been set aside even though there isn't enough economic activity occurring in the are to fillt he empty spots they currently have.

I'm happy for the Little League families and the Family Fare employees for both getting much needed and deserved upgrades but in terms of economic demand and land use...this does not make sense.

[JoeSchmo]

I'm happy for the Little League families and the Family Fare employees for both getting much needed and deserved upgrades but in terms of economic demand and land use...this does not make sense.

[NorthCoast]

Looking forward though in Georgetown\Jenison's best interest, I believe it would be wise to try and replace the old stores with residential - if this is even possible. Possibly condominiums or apartments.

[fotoman311]

Could be feasible at 20th/Baldwin, the old D&W location, because Spartan doesn't own it and the building is in such bad state that I doubt anyone is going to use it as is. There is also some undeveloped land behind it.

With the right plan and zoning that 20th/Baldwin corridor could've been something special. It's location was just so ideal for some sort of walkable development. It's got subdivions, dozens of churches, several schools, a park, the library, and township offices all within walking distance of that corner, all accessible by existing sidewalks/biketrail. It would've made a great site for an uptown mixed-use development that could've been anchored by a new grocery store. I really think with some traffic calming it could've worked but guess we'll never know.

[NorthCoast]

Read through some of the Township Board minutes and it sounded like neither parties where actively pursuing to renew the lease at the 20th/Baldwin location. Spartan wanted out of the building and were not interested in purchasing the land so the prospect of an empty, vacated building at the site was pretty much inevitable. Given the condition of the building and land, I don't think the current property owners are too eager to really do much. The site is approximately 40 years old, they've already made their profit on it.

The ballparks will be located next to the ice arena and therefore will create the footprint of a sports complex. Though I wish they were located closer to existing development, in all actuality there really wasn't a lot of good options that were cost efficient or big enough to house such a complex. The muck fields on Bauer probably would've been big enough but I'm sure soil limitations would've been an issue and I think that area is owned by 2 or 3 different people, so even obtaining the land, had they wanted to might have been tricky. Otherwise I can not really envision any other contiguous area in the Township that would've been viable without some major land clearing and/or building demolitions work.

It is what it is. The next challenge for the Township should still be re-investing and re-vitalizing their already lagging commercial areas. If they could come up with a really progressive and sustainable plan, it would make them approving this proposal a non-issue.