First Comes Meijer, Then Comes...Who?

The new Meijer store in Acme is a projected six months away from opening its doors. It won’t stand alone long, though, at the east end of a planned 160-acre mixed-use development along M-72 East in Acme Township. So what might follow in Meijer’s large footprints at the Grand Traverse Town Center?

One good guess is a car wash. Traverse City’s Xtreme Clean Car Wash first started a partnership with Meijer when it opened at the Traverse City store in 2004. That was followed by five locations at Meijer stores in the Kalamazoo market in 2013.

“We’ve certainly talked about the Acme store and are interested in putting one in that location, but nothing has been nailed down at this point,” says company President Adam Miller.

In the shadow of the new development there is a lone 1.7-acre parcel for sale at the intersection of M-72 and Lautner Road. A farmhouse sits on the land that is zoned commercial. The $1.5 million price tag includes water and sewer. The property is represented by Colliers International. The broker did not respond to requests for comment about potential buyers.

The leasing arm of Jeffrey R Anderson Real Estate in Cincinnati, Ohio is managing the available commercial space at the Grand Traverse Town Center. The leasing representative for the property also did not return a call seeking comment.

Ken Petterson of the Smith & Johnson law firm in Traverse City and attorney for the Town Center development tells The Ticker no retailers have signed on the dotted line.

"The project is proceeding with Phase I,” Petterson says. “The only thing happening there right now is Meijer. No other agreements are in place."

Rob Evina, vice president of the Acme Business Association, says there is “a lot of buzz, a lot of interest” in Acme right now centered around the new Meijer and the development overall.

Evina says several businesses on the west side of Traverse City are now “looking seriously” at Acme in anticipation of the traffic Meijer is going to draw. The association is looking forward to “responsible, controlled growth” as dictated by Acme Township’s master plan, Evina added, not a “long line of big box stores.”

“This side of town is going through a nice transformation,” says Evina.

It is also anticipated that the Town Center development will continue to spur commercial activity heading east. Tractor Supply Co. will soon open its second location in the Grand Traverse region at the corner of Arnold Road and M-72. And Oryana Natural Foods Market is also targeting the Acme/Williamsburg area to build a second market with work underway to identify feasible locations. Plans call for the store to open the second half of 2016.