The northeast corner of 14 Mile Road and Coolidge Highway in Royal Oak could be getting a complete makeover with a proposed development that includes a new Kroger store with a gas station as well as a 4-story, 85-unit apartment building.
The Royal Oak City Commission approved a first reading for rezoning of the property at 2800 W. 14 Mile Road from industrial to a planned unit development during a May 18 meeting. Planner Doug Hedges said a second reading, expected later this month, is needed for approval and will be revised based on concerns and feedback from commissioners.
“Without a doubt, this is a $60 million transformational project,” Dennis Cowan, attorney representing developer Symmetry Management, told the commission.
The first step in the transformation, he said, would be to demolish the 210,000-square-foot manufacturing facility formerly occupied by Comau Industries.
“Think of that whole landscape opening up,” Cowan said. “Right now, it’s almost like a Berlin Wall in Detroit, and I think that whole area will certainly open up because of this project.”
Replacing the massive industrial building would be a roughly 103,000-square-foot new Kroger grocery store on the northern side of the property (which would subsequently replace the Kroger not even a half-mile away on Coolidge in Troy). A fuel station would be added on the southwest corner of the property with five double-sided pumps (and adding to gas station competition in the area with a forthcoming Sheetz about a quarter of a mile west on 14 Mile). Completing the project would be a four-story multiple-family building with 85 units on the far northeast corner of the site.
Cowan said the multi-family housing was not part of the original plan brought to the planning commission nine months ago. When the plan was met with skepticism, the housing was added, along with stormwater management features on the property, a wider, 10-foot sidewalk along 14 Mile Road, and other benefits.
The improvements, including 159 trees to be planted on a site that currently only has seven, helped win the favor of the planning commission, which unanimously recommended approval of the plan in April.
But the city commission has numerous concerns — particularly over the lack of details on the “affordable” housing and pedestrian safety on the site.
“We want more housing, but I am concerned we are putting people in an apartment complex with no way to get out safely except by car,” Commissioner Rebecca Cheezum, the sole no vote on the first reading, said. “I don’t think pedestrians were taken into consideration enough. The safety issues are significant for me, and I want to see projects with pedestrians and cyclists in mind.”
The multi-family housing, to include studios and 1 and 2-bedroom units, does not have pricing attached yet, nor does the building have frontage or direct access to a public street.
John Freel, director of design with Symmetry Management, acknowledged that the number of delivery trucks and vehicle traffic to Kroger added complexity to the residential component of the plan. To address safety, all trucks would be routed in and out of the lot to Coolidge. Trucks would not use 14 Mile Road to enter or exit the Kroger lot.
“Through a very careful orchestration,” Freel said, trucks, cars and pedestrians would be separated. A deceleration lane would also be added on northbound Coolidge.
Commissioner Brandon Kalo said one option to improve pedestrian safety would be to eliminate the housing part of the plan and only keep the Kroger.
“I don’t think any of us love this project, but we want to see a way for this to get developed eventually,” said Kalo, who was joined by four other commissioners in voting yes for the first reading (Mayor Michael Fournier was absent). “What we have on the table has potential to be a great project in this community and we look forward to what we see at the second reading.”
Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: $60-million Royal Oak project includes Kroger, gas station, apartments
Reporting by Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
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