Dick's Sporting Goods Planned For GT Mall

National retailer Dick's Sporting Goods is planning to open a Traverse City location at the Grand Traverse Mall.

According to site plan documents submitted to Garfield Township by engineering firm Gosling Czubak, Dick's will be located in the space formally occupied by Carmike Cinemas and 10 other tenants in the northwestern wing of the mall. The "existing structure will be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up" to accommodate a 54,540 square-foot store. The company is expected to employ between 60 and 75 employees at the location.

The footprint of the proposed space "is similar to the existing footprint of that part of the mall, with the addition of a receiving area and loading dock to the east," according to Gosling Czubak. "The most significant change to the site will be the new building elevation...(it) will range from about 20 feet in height up to about 26 feet in height...which is generally consistent with the majority of the mall." Rouse Properties - which owns Grand Traverse Mall - is also requesting approval to build two new overhead service door entrances by Macy's and the main mall entrance.

Garfield Township planning commissioners will review the site plan at their 7pm meeting Wednesday at Garfield Township Hall. A public hearing on the plan could then be set for January 13. While Gosling Czubak did not identify a targeted opening date for Dick's, it said the project would take place in three phases, including the construction of a utility addition servicing that wing of the mall, demolition and then construction of the new store.

The Ticker first reported in October that Dick's Sporting Goods was scouting locations including the Grand Traverse Mall in the Traverse City area.