Many of our readers have heard the recent news that a large sporting goods retailer, Cabela's, will be building a new store in the Grand Rapids area. The project will be part of a larger retail development happening near Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grandville that will feature a new Target store and several other retailers. It marks the first announcement in quite some time of a large scale retailer, or big box, making an investment in the Grand Rapids area -- a sluggish trend that has been mirrored in much of the country due to the recession.
But what about the little retail guys and gals, particularly those who are setting up shop in urban and neighborhood business districts -- areas that have seen decades of dis-investment and high retail vacancy rates? How have they fared the last several years locally, regionally and nationally? Quite optimistically, it seems, if based on how many small retailers have jumped into the water recently to try their hand at entrepreneurship.
Because our focus is primarily on traditional neighborhood business districts and downtown areas, we've seen firsthand how the trend is happening locally. We've covered no less than 50 new small retail businesses that have either opened or expanded in the last six months in West Michigan. From new
bike shops, to
used book stores, to stores that specialize in
olive oil, small mom and pops are springing up like daisies in May all over the city.
Not so much on 28th Street, but they're happening in areas like Wealthy Street and Cherry Street, and in districts like Eastown, Gaslight Village, Creston, Grandville Avenue and the West Side of Grand Rapids, to name a few. They're also popping up in downtown Holland, Grand Haven, Muskegon and even Zeeland.
That's the trend happening regionally and nationally as well. While much of the large scale retail development has scaled back tremendously in recent years, retail development in small, walkable urban districts has taken off and is expected to increase over the next decade as energy prices skyrocket and people wish to live in closer proximity to amenities.*
One embodiment of this small retail explosion has been the birth of retail incubators. A prime example locally that we've covered quite extensively is MoDiv, at the corner of Monroe Center and North Division, in downtown Grand Rapids. We've "covered extensively" because it seems a new business opens there weekly.
The first floor retail space at this corner has traditionally housed one or two retail tenants throughout the years, and has suffered from a large amount of turnover. In 2011, it was split up into smaller retail bays by Rockford Development to entice retail startups and those who were looking for smaller space. MoDiv now houses several boutiques, a shoe store, a florist, a fitness store and a commercial kitchen and cafe combination.
"We recognized that first floor space has has been a struggle to keep occupied in downtown Grand Rapids for a while," explains Kurt Hassberger, COO of Rockford Construction. "We tried to identify what the common objections were for smaller retailers, and found that investments in build-outs (renovating the actual space), more space than need be, and high monthly rents were barriers for them. The solution was to break up tens of thousands of square feet into hundreds of square feet with help from the City of Grand Rapids with several new
incentive programs aimed at retail redevelopment."
What was a surprise to some was the interest shown by several local retail and industry giants. Local office furniture giant Haworth opened an 1800-square-foot
Haworth Interphase showroom. Eastern Floral opened a small satellite location called
Bokay, while locally headquartered Wolverine World Wide opened one of its first urban-themed Wolverine Company Stores.
"Talent attraction is vitally important to Wolverine World Wide, and we have found that the cities that are growing and thriving have a strong creative class, a vibrant urban core, and walkable environments where people want to live," explains Blake Krueger, CEO of Wolverine World Wide. "[We] felt that investing in projects like GRid70 and our Wolverine Company Store in downtown Grand Rapids would go a long way in helping Grand Rapids fight above its weight class against other cities. The small prototype store gave us an opportunity to interact [closely] with our customers and offer a diverse lineup of our footwear that we don't normally offer in one place."
To hear more about the growing trend toward retail and commercial development in walkable urban environments, Blake Krueger will deliver the keynote address, and Kurt Hassberger will speak as well, at this year's
10th Annual ICSC West Michigan Alliance Program at Devos Place in downtown Grand Rapids on March 6. Rapid Growth, along with many other regional industry experts, will be taking part in the discussions about urban redevelopment, community building and retail trends.
*For more reading on the topic, take a look at
What's Next: Real Estate in the New Economy, by the Urban Land Institute.
Sources: Kurt Hassberger, COO of Rockford Construction
Blake Krueger, CEO of Wolverine World Wide
Anne Marie Bessette, Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jeff Hill