Dilapidated eyesore in Grand Rapids' Midtown demolished to make way for new Walgreens

What was once local grocery giant Meijer Stores' store #6 at the northeast gateway to Grand Rapids' Medical Mile and downtown is now a pile of rubble and pavement as developers move forward on the latest plan for the property -- a 14,000-square-foot Walgreens store.

Dave Duthler says it was just over three years ago when his store, Duthler's Family Foods, left its outdated building at Michigan St. and Fuller Avenue NE and relocated to Madison Square. The plan was that Spartan Stores would transform the vacated property into a D&W Fresh Market.

When the plan didn't go through, Duthler was left to wonder what to do with the forlorn 2.5-acre site. Duthler says his wondering ended when Anchor Properties, a developer for Walgreens stores, contacted him a year ago about erecting a new building to replace the aging store at Michigan and Diamond.

Besides featuring a drive-thru pharmacy, which the existing Walgreens doesn't have, the new store adds about 2,000 square feet of space. Perhaps more importantly for the neighborhood, the weed-dotted parking lot will be resurfaced and lined by landscaping, grass and trees, and iron fences with brick columns along both Michigan and Fuller. The new building will feature storefront windows facing Fuller Avenue.

"We're leasing an acre and a quarter, and Duthler's have an equal size parcel that wraps around Walgreens on the back and behind the Family Dollar," says Anchor Properties' Matthew Williams, VP of development.

The site plan includes possible future buildings on both Michigan St. and Fuller, but Duthler says he doesn't know what that part of the property might become.

"It's been hard enough to get the Walgreens accomplished and we're trying to get that behind us before moving on," he says. "That building was tired and old and we're thrilled to put something new there. Hopefully the area will be more attractive and we hope it will be more pedestrian friendly."

Williams says construction begins this month. Completion is expected in early 2012.

Rohde Construction, Kentwood, is handling construction. The Architectural Group of Grandville handled the design.

Source: Dave Duthler, Duthler's Family Foods; Matthew Williams, Anchor Properties of the Great Lakes, Inc.
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor