GRAND BLANC, MI — The city says Amazon Fresh will anchor the Grand Blanc Marketplace, a vacant plaza that was once home to retailer Kmart and a Farmer Jack grocery store.
City Manager Wendy Jean-Buhrer said on Friday, May 6, that the owner of the property, Markus Management Group, has told city officials that Amazon will be a part of the redeveloped property.
“We are excited,” Jean-Buhrer said. “This is going to be wonderful. It will bring in other great tenants as well.”
The city also announced the Amazon development in a post on its Facebook page Friday afternoon.
MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach an Amazon spokeswoman for comment on the Grand Blanc store, but a company representative said last month that it doesn’t comment on its plans for future stores.
Doraid S. Markus of Markus Management also declined to comment on the company’s involvement in the development.
On its website, Amazon says shoppers in its stores “will find a wide assortment of national brands and high-quality produce, meat, and seafood” and prepared foods made fresh in each location.
Stores feature Amazon Dash Carts, which scan grocery items as they are added and which allow customers to skip the traditional checkout lines. Stores also offer traditional shopping carts and check-out lanes with cashiers.
The marketplace, located at 12730 S. Saginaw St., has been mothballed for several years. The Kmart store closed in 2014 and the former Farmer Jack store has been vacant for roughly 15 years.
Jean-Buhrer said she expects construction to start this year and said a sewer permit for the development is pending. A final site plan for the property was approved by the city’s planning commission in 2021.
Plans call for at least six suites to be built on the Saginaw Street side of the property and for a drive-through lane to be developed through the center of the former Kmart building, city officials have said. Plans also call for the construction of an out-lot on the northeast corner of the property, which may have up to three tenants with a drive-through lane.
In addition to Amazon Fresh, the city manager said Jersey Mike’s, a Mediterranean restaurant and Starbucks are also expected to be a part of the redeveloped property.
Read more at The Flint Journal:
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