When Carolyn Haering decided to launch a romance-only bookstore in Canton, only one location would do: the Canton Corners Shopping Center at the southwest corner of Ford and Lilley roads.
Haering, who left a busy marketing and advertising career to slow down and follow her dream, wanted to be close to Michigan’s only Ikea and the new Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers.
“I wanted to be not so far from Ikea because that’s where a lot of book lovers get bookshelves,” said Haering, who opened Mon Coeur Books in May 2025. “Canton is a destination. People come from all over to go to Ikea and then go to Raising Cane’s because there’s no other really in the state.”
One year later, she knows her instinct was right. Women, she said, often say they’re stopping in her store to pick up new novels to line their new bookshelves.
“If I wasn’t on Ford Road, I don’t know if the store would have been as successful as it is,” she said.
And Haering isn’t alone in her desire to be on Ford Road.
After more than 50 years of development, companies continue to be drawn by Ford Road’s traffic, visibility and regional appeal, making property scarce and nudging the township into a new era of redevelopment and infill projects as the corridor evolves.
Little room left
At an April meeting of the Canton Township Planning Commission, commissioners reviewed plans for The Shoppes on Ford, a proposed four-tenant retail development on the north side of Ford Road between Lilley and Haggerty roads, near Ikea.
The project, situated on what was described as “one of the last developable parcels on Ford Road,” hasn’t broken ground but is already being marketed by CMP Real Estate Group.
Jordan Jabbori, senior director at CMP, said he has prospective tenants lined up early for the space.
“Ford Road is one of the strongest retail corridors in the state,” Jabbori said. “You’ve got people coming from out of state literally to come to this IKEA. It is a regional pull.”
Jabbori pointed to newer additions, like Cava and Raising Cane’s, as examples of retailers targeting the corridor and said finding the right space has become increasingly difficult.
That’s not to say vacancies don’t exist. Ford Road does have prominent empty storefronts, including the former Black Rock Bar & Grill and Value City Furniture locations. “For Lease” signs are not hard to find.
But properties with the visibility, access and size many retailers want are more difficult.
Jabbori said he is currently searching for Ford Road space for a jeweler but has struggled to locate a storefront that meets space and location requirements.
“Can I go find them space somewhere that’s a third of the price? Yes,” he said. “But is that the best thing for them? No, because they want to be upfront and seen.”
Jabbori is also marketing the former Bob Evans property near Interstate 275, which closed in November 2025 after 47 years.
“There’s a deal in the works,” he said. “And I’d like to believe everyone that lives around that area will be very excited.”
So far, he’s not able to divulge any details.
Is infill in the future?
As available land disappears, Canton is increasingly looking at underused parking lots – such as the site proposed for The Shoppes on Ford – as opportunities for redevelopment.
While retail vacancies still exist along the corridor, few undeveloped parcels with frontage remain between I-275 and Canton Center Road. Some oversized parking lots in front of stores like Kohl’s and Target could eventually become candidates for infill development.
“We have encouraged commercial developers to look at the large parking lots along Ford Road,” Sloan said. “Where there’s open spaces where people don’t park often, maybe reach out to the owner to see if they’d be willing to lease or sell parts of it.”
Many shopping centers, he noted, were originally built with more parking than needed, leaving large unused impervious surfaces that contribute to stormwater runoff – a problem in Canton – that’s expensive for property owners to maintain.
Some projects along the corridor have already followed that model.
A Culver’s near Meijer was built on what had previously been an underused parking lot space, Sloan said. A newer multi-tenant retail center near Home Depot, east of I-275, also replaced excess parking.
Sloan said the township’s goal is for future infill projects to enhance the existing corridor by improving pedestrian access, incorporating additional green space and blending with surrounding development.
He also noted the township has worked with property owners to encourage cross-access drives between shopping centers, allowing drivers to move between businesses without repeatedly pulling back onto Ford Road.
Those connections have already helped reduce congestion and will become even more important during future road construction, he said.
What’s available, and what’s not
While much of Ford Road is already built out, some larger undeveloped commercial parcels do exist near the western edge of the corridor, just west of Canton Center Road.
Sloan pointed to vacant commercially zoned land near Belle Tire and north of Ford Road that has drawn interest from developers.
One proposal for an LA Fitness in the area about five years ago ultimately fell through because existing stormwater infrastructure could not support the project, he said.
One of the few undeveloped stretches along Ford Road – a wooded property just east of Morton Taylor Road near OfficeMax – also draws interest from developers, Sloan said.
But much of the site contains wetlands and is protected by a state conservation easement, making development unlikely.
“We’ve had a lot of calls about that one,” Sloan said. “When we get inquiries, we let people know our preference and our interest is in maintaining that conservation easement.”
Sloan said some undeveloped land also remains on the south side of Ford Road east of I-275, though floodplains limit what can be built there.
Big projects in play
Several major development proposals are still taking shape – potentially – along the eastern edge of the corridor near I-275.
A proposed Sheetz gas station at Ford and Lotz roads is still under review. Sloan said the township is waiting on additional information related to traffic impacts, access management and circulation around the busy intersection.
And a proposed Topgolf, Chick-fil-A and Portillo’s development stalled more than a year ago after the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy denied a wetlands permit tied to the project.
Sloan said discussions have continued about possible scaled-back development closer to Ford Road with less impact on wetlands, though no revised proposal has been submitted.
“I haven’t given up on the prospect of Topgolf potentially going there,” Sloan said. “But if and when the developer comes back with any kind of revised proposal, we’ll have a better idea.”
Steve Robinson, vice president of acquisitions and development for Broder Sachse Real Estate, the company behind the project, did not return a request for comment.
Looking ahead
Meanwhile, Chick-fil-A could find a spot elsewhere on Ford Road.
Canton Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak said the company is currently working with the township planning department to find a location.
“We’ve said many times, ‘Chick-fil-A is a destination. If you move to Michigan Ave or Canton Center, people will find you,’ but they’re insistent on being on Ford Road,” she said. “It’s the place to be.”
Graham-Hudak said Ford Road has long served as Canton’s commercial backbone and remains one of the community’s defining features.
The corridor’s regional draw, she noted, is evident in recent visitor data, which recorded roughly 10.7 million visits to the Canton Township Downtown Development Authority shopping district over 12 months.
“People judge Canton by Ford Road,” Graham-Hudak said. “If they live outside Canton, they say, ‘Oh, I go there to shop.’ The people who live in Canton say, ‘I don’t even have to go anywhere. Everything’s on Ford Road.’ ”
The township, she said, has spent years creating a consistent look along the corridor, from traffic signal infrastructure and light posts to development standards, and is now working through the DDA to strengthen the Ford Road District brand.
The DDA recently adopted a new logo and branding campaign that appears on banners throughout the corridor.
Graham-Hudak said the effort is intended to create a recognizable identity while helping future development fit within the established look and feel of the area.
At the same time, township officials are planning for the corridor’s long-term future, including the long-anticipated boulevard project, a $65 million Michigan Department of Transportation project that will reconstruct 2.27 miles of Ford Road (M-153) between I-275 and Sheldon Road starting in 2028.
“I think it’s important that we’re kind of setting up Ford Road for the next 50, 60 years,” Graham-Hudak said. “We’ve got to look into the future for Ford Road. I’d like to see it booming like it is, but I would like to see it keep the character and charm that it always has.”
Contact reporter Laura Colvin: lcolvin@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Canton is running out of room on Ford Road. Here’s what happens next.
Reporting by Laura Colvin, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
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