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| Freep on New Wal-Mart | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 29 2009, 10:23 PM (791 Views) | |
| Ms. AK | Jul 29 2009, 10:23 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907290342 Wal-Mart supercenter to anchor Livonia Marketplace BY GRETA GUEST • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • JULY 29, 2009 Read Comments(93)Recommend(2)PrintE-mail this articleLetter to editorShare Livonia has landed a second Wal-Mart supercenter as plans to develop the former Livonia Mall into the Livonia Marketplace move ahead. Wal-Mart has signed on to build a 180,000-square-foot store at the Seven Mile and Middlebelt center, said developer Daniel Stern. Wal-Mart opened a supercenter at Middlebelt and Plymouth roads in 2007. "We were actually talking with a couple of different groups. Wal-Mart became the most logical player," Stern said. "For them, it made a lot of sense after their recent success in southern Livonia at Wonderland." Wal-Mart plans to break ground on the store this fall with an opening planned in fall 2010, said company spokesman Nick Infante. The store will employ 300, he added. "We are very pleased with how the community has reacted to the store," Infante said. "They have been coming out and supporting it." Livonia officials are thrilled to have two outdated malls rejuvenated just three years and three miles apart. "We are excited about it," said Livonia Mayor Jack Kirksey. "There are obviously mixed emotions about another big box." And like the Wonderland Wal-Mart, the new one at the marketplace will operate 18 hours a day because of resident concerns about a 24-hour center in a residential area. Stern is a partner in Lormax Stern of West Bloomfield, which teamed up with Konover South of Boca Raton, Fla., and Grand/Sakwa Properties of Farmington Hills to form Livonia Phoenix LLC and build Livonia Marketplace. The Jo-Ann Fabrics store at the site recently closed, but Sears continues to operate and will not be part of the new look for the center, Stern said. The Jo-Ann Fabrics building will be renovated and leased, he said. Demolition of the old mall started a few months ago. The center is expected to open in 2010 with the Wal-Mart, an additional 30,000 square feet of retail space and two parcels in the outer rim of the parking lot along Seven Mile. Stern said eight deals to lease the additional retail space were being negotiated. Contact GRETA GUEST: 313-223-4192 or gguest@freepress.com. |
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Krome on Cars | |
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| Ms. AK | Jul 29 2009, 10:40 PM Post #2 |
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There are about 70 comments about this story on the site. |
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Krome on Cars | |
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| Xena | Jul 30 2009, 09:21 AM Post #3 |
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I will never shop there. |
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| IDK | Jul 30 2009, 11:25 AM Post #4 |
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"We are very pleased with how the community has reacted to the store," Infante said. "They have been coming out and supporting it." Who is supporting it? I haven't heard anything but complaints from my neighbors, how about yours? |
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| Purple Haze | Jul 30 2009, 11:50 AM Post #5 |
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obviously political rhetoric - you don't think, after annexation, that Mayor Kirksey cares what you feel? |
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| Momof4 | Jul 30 2009, 02:12 PM Post #6 |
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Stern is a partner in Lormax Stern of West Bloomfield, which teamed up with Konover South of Boca Raton, Fla., and Grand/Sakwa Properties of Farmington Hills to form Livonia Phoenix LLC and build Livonia Marketplace. I notice that although this company is in West Bloomfield, teamed with an out of state company and one in F.H. but there are no Walmarts in W.B. or F.H. are there? I don't know what city the one on Pontiac Trail is in. |
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| Otis B. | Jul 31 2009, 12:50 PM Post #7 |
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I can't say that I'm absolutely thrilled with a Wal-Mart going up in my backyard, and I probably will not shop there, BUT I have to say it beats having that dive sitting there. It really got embarrassing telling people I lived right behind Livonia Mall, and having them reply "Really?? Is that still there?" At least I can now say I live behind Livonia MARKETPLACE. |
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| Deleted User | Aug 6 2009, 06:29 PM Post #8 |
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Wal-Mart not wanted I am writing in regards to the new Wal-Mart being built in the area of the old Livonia Mall. I reside on Beatrice and have been actively involved in maintaining a hard-working, family-oriented neighborhood for years. Our street is full of children riding bikes and having a great time doing what children do. The lack of sidewalks in our neighborhood makes riding bikes difficult as cars busily travel our street whether it be Sears doing drivers education or the local automotive repair shops on Eight Mile driving fast then screeching to a halt to test the brakes on newly repaired vehicles. We as a community self-police the area to ensure our children and families are safe. Maybe this isn’t what truly frustrates me. Maybe it’s the high school kids who have open campus for lunch who choose to walk down our street smoking marijuana and shouting profanities. Maybe it’s the fact that when I call to report this, the school directs me to the police and the police direct me to the school. I am proud Livonia is trying to revitalize our city by bringing in new business to create jobs; however, there are many other businesses more desperately needed in our area. Based upon the reception of the most recent Wal-Mart opening in the old Wonderland Mall, do you really think opening another location several miles north is appropriate? All big businesses bring big change, but not all change is good. Upon the first week of opening of the Wonderland Mall Wal-Mart and my first visit to its grand location my car was broken into and vandalized directly in front of the main entrance and on camera. Several years later my report is still being investigated. Enough is enough. It is time for change but why should one step forward result in two steps back? Capitalism is great and I as an American stand 100 percent behind the private enterprise system although I do not believe that another Wal-Mart is going to put Livonia back on track to recovery. Home values are at an all-time low. Why should they be devalued any more by lack of concern for addressing tax- paying citizens’ needs? Is the fact that Quicken Loans is moving its headquarters downtown the reason we must make a rash decision in a race to replace one of the city’s largest employers, or is it that nobody cares anymore? Many concerned, hard-working citizens do not stand behind this issue. Steve Massie Livonia http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20090806/NEWS10/90806002/1199/NEWS10/Letters+to+the+editor |
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| Ms. AK | Aug 6 2009, 10:02 PM Post #9 |
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I understand it's going to be Walmart and a Sam's Club. |
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Krome on Cars | |
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| Otis B. | Aug 7 2009, 10:35 AM Post #10 |
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I have a hard time believing that it will negatively affect home prices more than a dead mall did. |
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| steve emsley | Aug 7 2009, 02:05 PM Post #11 |
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As an aside... we will be getting another one at 7 and Haggerty... you are not alone. |
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| noonespecial | Aug 8 2009, 12:28 PM Post #12 |
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it's simple folks . . . . . the only way to truly make your voice heard, is to NOT SHOP there - and let your mayor, city council, etc (not to mention the retailer itself) know that you will NOT SHOP there. the ONLY true power we have these days . . is our power as consumers - PERIOD. think about it . . . . how angry were you last summer when gas was almost $5 a gallon . . . yet Exxon was raking in more record profits (oh . . but that had nothing to do with the price of gas - right???) . . think what a message would be sent if just a million people never bought their gas at an Exxon-related company again? we can get a million people together for a fireworks display, or a march to Washington . . . you'd think we could get a million people to NOT patronize Exxon??? I'm just using Exxon as an example . . . apply the same principle to a million other companies . . . . (how easily could such a 'movement' be started - Facebook postings encouraging all your friends to join in, networking groups that are so popular right now, people coming together in a common purpose - isn't that what this country is supposed to be all about??) imagine the possibilities??? how and where we spend our money is one of the few things that cannot be corrupted if we make the commitment to being educated and dedicated consumers. wow . . . I'm getting waaaay too preachy here . . . just something my friends and I are pretty passionate about (obviously). thanks for letting me vent . . . . ! |
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| LPSisPoor | Aug 10 2009, 06:09 PM Post #13 |
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I've never heard of Sam's Club going in there. Where did you hear that? |
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| Ms. AK | Aug 10 2009, 08:33 PM Post #14 |
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I don't know for sure, but that's what I've been told. |
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Krome on Cars | |
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