A retail development helping to change the face of Plymouth Road is almost ready to be occupied by five first-floor tenants. The interior of the spaces occupied by Starbucks, La Vida Massage, The Big Salad, Great Clips and DFCU Financial are now being built out, and developer Jack Edelstein of
JonesWoods Properties expects the businesses to begin opening their doors in late March or early April.
"I live in the neighborhood and I frequent the existing shopping mall quite regularly," he says. "I noticed that part of the parking lot was underused and thought it would be a good opportunity for an infill project."
Far from competing with the existing shopping center, Edelstein partnered with mall owner Vern Hutton on the project. Edelstein says the infill project was made possible when the City of Ann Arbor lowered its parking requirements for the existing mall.
"That opened up the opportunity for us to make better use of the space," he says.
The City also encouraged the development of the project close to sidewalk along Plymouth Road to improve access for bikers, pedestrians and public transportation when it approved the project in 2007. Edelstein says the requirement will benefit future second floor tenants, who will appreciate the view, as well as the patio that may be used by the restaurant tenants.
The second floor is still available for lease. Edelstein hopes to attract a single tenant to the 9,000 square foot office space. He expects the existing tenants to create approximately 50 new jobs collectively.
Source: Jack Edelstein, JonesWoods Properties
Writer: Natalie Burg, Development News Editor
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