A Grand Rapids board has approved Meijer Inc.’s plan to demolish the Christian Reformed Church of North America to make way for a new gas station.
In addition, the project could free up around 4,000 square meters for future development in the south of the city, directly south of 28th Street.
The Grand Rapids Planning Commission unanimously approved Meijer’s plan on Thursday. Once the proposed gas station and convenience store at the corner of 28th Street and Kalamazoo Avenue SE are built, Meijer plans to demolish its existing gas station nearby.
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The CRC recently moved out of the 130,000-square-foot building at 1700 28th St. SE where it operated for nearly 70 years. The organization will move into a former Cornerstone University building on East Beltline Avenue and is in the process of selling the 11-acre former office property to Meijer.
Meijer is pursuing a project to move the existing gas station farther away from surrounding residential areas and closer to the busy intersection, said Matt Levitt, real estate manager at Meijer, during Thursday’s planning board meeting.
The new 24-hour gas station and convenience store would span approximately 3 acres and include 22 parking spaces, four electric vehicle charging stations and seven gas pumps for up to 14 vehicles. The 5,600-square-foot convenience store would sell alcohol, have a food preparation area and indoor seating. The complex’s entrances would be on Kalamazoo Avenue and 28th Street.
In the meantime, the remainder of the CRC site and the current Meijer gas station would be prepared for future development with prairie grasses and flowering plants until a future use is determined.
The total construction site is approximately 17 acres and includes the CRC property and the existing Meijer gas station. Meijer proposes to remove 179 of the 200 trees on the site for the project.
Meijer representatives told attendees of an April 16 neighborhood meeting at the former CRC offices that future development of the 17-acre site — aside from relocating the gas station — could be done by Meijer or a partner to whom the retailer sells a portion of the land, according to meeting minutes.
Levitt told the Planning Commission that he expects building permit applications to be submitted over the next year for the three accessory lots on the property that are slated for future development. Meijer’s team, which is managing the accessory lot development, “has received numerous inquiries about when the accessory lots would be available for lease or purchase,” Levitt said.
Two people wrote to the Planning Commission to express environmental and traffic concerns about the development. The head of a Calvin University environmental program called Plaster Creek Stewards told commissioners in a letter that the group intends to work with Meijer to promote “environmental protection and community engagement through a variety of initiatives” on the site.
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Long-standing Grand Rapids construction company moves to new downtown offices
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