What about Meijer?

Feb. 17, 2008

Now that Meijer and the Acme Township have worked out their differences in court over a Meijer store on Lautner Road, the question is, what happens now?
Meijer has a choice: it could build its 210,000 square-foot store in a field that it bought on M-72 and Lautner Road in 1988. Or it could build its superstore across the street as part of the Village at Grand Traverse.
Five years ago, Meijer agreed to build its store on the Village development. But after a citizens’ group sued the Village for a second time, Meijer decided it would pursue a back-up plan to build a store on its own 64-acre field. That project was called Lautner Commons.
Yet Meijer faced its own obstacles with Lautner Commons, such as building a gas station on land with a very high water table along M-72, a plan approved by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The township said no, in part, because Meijer would have to strap down the underground gas tanks with weights to prevent them from floating upwards. The township asked Meijer to relocate the gas station 200 feet away to a lower water table.
The township volutuntarily removed some conditions, such as its restriction on a 24-hour operation. Circuit Judge Phil Rodgers ruled the remaining conditions were legal, including the relocation of the gas station. He also asked for a traffic impact study.
So now that Meijer is free to build on Lautner Commons, will it?
Observers believe that Meijer will re-join the Village project for two reasons. One, it doesn’t want to compete with a big-box anchor across the street. Two, the DEQ has stipulated an overwhelming number of conditions for the wetland areas.
Village developer Steven Smith couldn’t say whether Meijer will go with the Village, but he hopes it will. Meijer officials did not return phone calls, continuing to maintain a low profile. News has been mostly bad for the superstore after a Traverse City Record-Eagle article reported it spent $30,000 on public relations work connected with the recall election of township officials. That P.R. effort also included the energies of Village developer Jim Goss, who told Northern Express that he was trying to get out factual information about Meijer.
The Grand Traverse County prosecutor has been asked to investigate criminal wrongdoing on the part of Meijer since there is little faith in the state Secretary of State and state Attorney General to do anything.