The project will be part of a flurry of activity on the southern tier of Kent County as retailers swarm to key intersections along the new South Beltline highway, said Matt Williams, VP of the company's retail division. Speaking at Grubb & Ellis Paramount's 2004 Real Estate Forecast, Williams, said ground should be broken in the next few months on 350,000 sf of retail space at a site next to the new South Belt (M-6) and Kalamazoo Avenue SE for the planned shopping center.

It will be an unusual situation for Walker, MI-based Meijer Inc., since the shopping center will be shared with two competitors usually forced to other sites because of exclusivity clauses. "It is typical that we do have separate driveways," says John Zimmerman, a spokesman for Meijer. "But this is such a unique development where Gaines Township has worked hard to develop that commercial area as its only large commercial development."

The two remaining building sites at the center's location can accommodate an 88,000-sf building and a 124,000-sf building--large enough for a Target and Kohl's. Williams said after the meeting that Target and Kohl's have not finalized their agreements.