Two Stores Leave Dearborn’s West Village Commons
Two more businesses this week have left the unfinished Burton-Katzman development in Dearborn known as West Village Commons.
New Hookah Bar Coming
Two more tenants in Dearborn’s West Village Commons -– the Burton-Katzman development on Michigan Avenue that has failed to live up to all it promised since opening in 2005 -– are packing their bags and leaving.
Another “business” is coming to the development but more on that shortly.
The UPS Store and Cold Stone Creamery, two of the first stores to move into the once-promising development, closed their doors this week.
The UPS Store is moving to 23636 Michigan Ave.
The good news is that the UPS Store is moving a few blocks west on Michigan Avenue, adjacent to Miller’s Bar. The UPS Store moved because the owner apparently was unable to renegotiate a lower monthly lease rate. The current rate is about $20 per sq.-ft., a far cry from the $33 per sq.-ft. West Village Commons was charging when it first opened six years ago. But it still is uncompetitive when you compare it to Ford Land properties, which have a lease rate as low as $10 per sq.-ft. in some buildings.
Cold Stone closed because it simply wasn’t doing enough business. This is the second time this Cold Stone has closed. Longtime readers of this site will recall that the original owner of Cold Stone, a Ford retiree, closed this same Dearborn location and Allen Park store for lack of business several years ago. The two stores were repurchased by another entrepreneur and reopened. A sign on the Dearborn store directs customers to the still-open Allen Park location.
The West Village Commons development, sans Tom Clark’s little gem, the Village Picture Framing and Art Gallery, is now turning into a bar and food destination, rather than the retail our elected officials hoped for when it entered into this development. The portion of the building facing Michigan Avenue houses Sattva Yoga and the Kabuki restaurant. Those businesses, thankfully, seem to be holding on.
Other former tenants include, the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Caribou Coffee, Supercuts, Au Bon Pain Bakery and American Home Fitness. All closed their doors for good several years ago.
As for the new business coming to the West Village Commons, it isn’t retail. The owner of Le Cigar, one of the first tenants of the development, is opening a new hookah bar called La Hookah.
Let us count the ways we miss the former Jacobson’s and Price’s . . .
November 13th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
One can never have too much of a selection when it comes to hookah bars. And I always thought the “Cold Stone” business model was kinda screwy. You go into a place and pay extra to have them fondle your ice cream with paddles and put extra stuff in it to charge three times what a regular ice-cream place would charge? No wonder the economy is so screwed up. Substance has been replaced by slick marketing. It might work for a minute but it doesn’t take long for people to see through the humbug. My kingdom for a good old-fashioned store that is based on making a fair profit for a fair product or service instead of trendy goofball merchants or money-laundering tax dodges.
November 13th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
I didn’t quite get that Coldstone concept either. I love ice cream. It was very, very rich, like eating butter – with no flavor – and expensive. I liked the old Baskin Robbins. It was always busy.
November 13th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Same ol’ same ol. This development always felt like the brainchild of some Politboro’s Central Planning Committee, with no feel for the potential market. Sad – servicing the debt on these debacles will be O’R’s legacy, and without cash flow . . . you know who gets the tab.
The administration was way out of its league – “couldn’t hit that pitching.”
It’s funny – by tearing down dilapidated buildings like the Merc, they are unintentionally setting up the West End for some organic development . . . but not til “them guys” are gone.
November 13th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Same ol’ same ol. This development always felt like the brainchild of some Politboro’s Central Planning Committee, with no feel for the potential market. Sad – servicing the debt on these debacles will be O’R’s legacy, and without cash flow . . . you know who gets the tab.
The administration was way out of its league – “couldn’t hit that pitching.”
It’s funny – by tearing down dilapidated buildings like the Merc, they are unintentionally setting up the West End for some organic development . . . but not til “them guys” are gone.
November 13th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Businesses are closing in part due to paid parking. Why pay to park to go to Coldstone when you can go to Coldstone in Allen Park with free parking. Instead of the city admitting their mistake with paid parking what do they do? Raise the rates so even less people will go down there. They also took away the free first half hour so you can’t even pick up a carryout or stop at the library without paying so I just don’t go down there anymore. There is also nowhere to shop and nothing to do down there. Just some bars and restaurants. I can find bars and restaurants anywhere with free parking. There is nothing special down there to draw me down there and pay to park. Why don’t they just admit it was a mistake and do away with it and see if people start going down there again. Times are tough for the city, but times are tough for the people too and they are giving us nothing special that would be worth paying to park to go to.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:25 am
I stopped going to West Dearborn stores a long time ago, yes I now frequent Allen Park. Last time I was in West Dearborn buying something, was Holiday lights at ACO on Michigan Ave. It’s a shame to see the West end as a ghost town….such a waste!!
November 14th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Is it too late to try and talk to the reps from KOHL’S? The area in question needs an anchor store badly, in order to attract other types of stores, get with it Chamber Of Commerce (we mean you Jennifer — we know you like the bars,however your tenure is going to be short, people in town can’t stand what you represent). The City fathers should do what they have to, in order to attract an anchor store before its like another Detroit.
November 14th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Sad to say but I spend more time in downtown detroit than I do in downtown dearborn these days. There is nothing I want to see or do in dearborn that is worth paying for parking. I’ve never even been to a show at the ford center since all the acts I want to see are downtown. The only “rock” act they have is Eddie Money what, is he the mayor’s cousin or something? There is no way they are bringing in enough money with paid parking to maintain the structures and pay the booth attendants and parking enforcement workers. They need to just cut their loses and admit it was a mistake and cover the meters, lay off the workers and let people come downtown and let the downtown grow and flourish before they start shaking their customers down for money.
November 14th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Don’t forget that Hallmark is leaving by March 2012. So, yes, there is nothing in west Dearborn.
November 14th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
“They need to just cut their loses and admit it was a mistake and cover the meters, lay off the workers and let people come downtown and let the downtown grow and flourish before they start shaking their customers down for money.”
So who should pay for the parking costs for the city lots? The business owners through the special assessment district that they said they didn’t want, or the taxpayers? Do you think they’d pass a parking cost millage? Everybody has a complaint but nobody even comes close to offering a solution. It was the BUSINESS owners and the residents who said they wanted the USER to pay for parking!
November 14th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Ah, Mr. Deep, I was just missing Jacobson’s yesterday! The tall staircase, the fountain at the bottom, the good quality of their merchandise, the good service…and at Christmas, what a place to shop! When my girls were small they thought Jacobson’s was magical.
I have to say, though, I don’t get the attitude toward parking prices. Sure, Allen Park has no charge for parking, but the parking lots are horrible. Sometimes it takes ten minutes to navigate through the stop signs, since so many people have no clue how to take their proper turn. If you parked in Dearborn and paid a lousy 50 CENTS, you can walk easily to your store and leave easily afterward. So much less hassle, and for how much…? Oh, yes, 50 cents. Very worth it, if you ask me.
November 14th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
I would like to know
I can not believe the owners of West Village Commons have not commented on this issue. I really don’t think they care. It seams like all these building are all owned by one group of investors come on step to the plate and deal with new businesses, start rents low and give new businesses a chance to develop. I’m sorry only a real developer would think that way. Hay I have an idea why not open a Gas Station in West Village Commons.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
I highly doubt they are making enough money to pay for the parking decks and pay the attendants and parking enforcement workers now so what does it matter? They are just getting us deeper in debt. And if that 50 cents is such a bargain that why isn’t there anybody parking there? The lots aren’t that bad in Allen Park and people on Michigan Avenue don’t drive any better than the people in Allen Park. AND it’s not just 50 cents it keeps adding up the longer you are parked in Dearborn. So, I don’t have an answer as to who should pay for the parking but NOBODY is paying for it now because NOBODY is going down there. And name me what BUSINESS owners that wanted paid parking for their customers. It doesn’t matter WHO wanted the paid parking. It’s VERY OBVIOUS that it isn’t working and business are closing left and right and they need to fix it fast.
If nobody goes there and business don’t open there than the parking decks will not be paid for anyway right?
Also, if Dearborn is so much better than Allen Park and the parking is such a bargain, than why did the majority of people start doing all their shopping and dining in Allen Park?
November 15th, 2011 at 7:37 am
What stores?
November 15th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Instead of whining, go shop. My wedding ring is from Steven Bernard’s. We have shopped at Merchant’s Warehouse since the beginning (when F&M was next to it). We only shop at Westborn or Dearborn Farm Market for food. I know that’s not everything but it’s a start. We have to stay loyal to the Dearborn stores who remain.
November 15th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Ali you are so right. I’m sure a lot of us would gladly pay 50 cents IF we had a place to shop in that area. I pay to park to go into Howell’s for a burger now and then but that’s about the only place I go to in that area.
November 15th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
I agree with Just Wondering. Paying 50 cents or a buck to eat or shop should not be a big deal to shoppers. Not to mention, many of the Dbn business validate your parking if you shop at their location. The problem is our Chamber of Commerce does NOTHING to promote new business. Everyone wants a Trader Joes. Or some big anchor store like Kohls. I also agree that Coldstone went out of business because it is over priced sickning ice-cream. Suzi-Q in Allen Park is clean, affordable & tasty ice cream. Anyway, the Chamber of Commerce in Dbn stinks. But I’m still hoping for the best for Dearborn!
Ps. Is it true that Hallmark is leaving in March 2012? I think they need signage on Mich Ave. They are too hidden.
November 15th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
You cranky people and your hobby horses. I’ve always doubted paid parking is the reason for lack of business in West Dearborn. It’s because the offerings suck. I regularly drive and pay to park to go to the places I like to frequent. If you gripe about it, then you’re probably just a complainer who would bitch about something else even if parking were free.
Ann Arbor has nothing but paid parking, certainly doesn’t hurt their business. Ditto for Royal Oak.
Build it and they will come .. Ohm spa, Crave, Satva, Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, Gamestop, Mongolian etc. How have all these managed to stay in business, with paid parking and supposedly high rents? How are areas in West Dearborn with NO paid parking always empty? How has La Pita managed to thrive?
Personally, I dont see anything wrong with a lot of eateries. Thats pretty much all Ann Arbor is .. wait .. except for Bongs and Thongs. Thats a concept.
November 15th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
“And name me what BUSINESS owners that wanted paid parking for their customers.”
Hakim Fakhoury for one. And many others too. They didn’t want to pay the assessment for lot repair and maintenance so they pushed for user paid parking and the citizens voted for it. Now that the economy tanked and just about the only one of them who could fill up a parking lot because their product was in demand is in the hills east of Beirut laughing at us, they want to blame paid parking. Go figure. Short memories.
November 15th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
They put the cart before the horse and put the paid parking in effect before the downtown area was established.
November 15th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
I think taking the free first 30 minutes away will effect Merchants business. I used to see a lot of people stop in real quick to pick up their purchases. I guess we will be able to tell if parking is the issue right there. We’ll see if those same people will shell out a quarter or 50 cents to stop and get their wine or just go buy it at Westborn Market or Meijer in Allen Park. I would go shop down there, but there is really no place I’m interested in shopping or eating down there these days.
November 15th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
You can’t compare us to those cities because they were already established with paid parking. We are trying to develop a thriving downtown area and they put the parking decks in before the area was established with loyal customers. And Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, Gamestop and Mongolian all are in the area with the free parking lot. Just sayin’
I’m sure if you talked to people a lot would tell you they don’t go down there because of paid parking.
HOWEVER, I must add that if there were some great places to eat and shop, I would pay the money to park. Such as if there was a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s I would pay to park and go to the ones in Dearborn rather than drive to West Bloomfield or Novi. The parking fee would be worth the gas savings alone. But a Coldstone in Dearborn and in Allen Park was not a good idea.
I do disagree however about the shopping aspect. If people were our shopping say, if Kohl’s was down there there is more of a chance they would stop to eat down there. Why would they shop at Allen Park Target and then drive to West Dearborn to pay to park and eat when they could just eat in Allen Park.
Also, if there was a concert or movie venue there people would go to eat before or after.
November 15th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
I don’t think the stop signs and parking lots in Allen Park are a problem at all. There are also a lot of people on Michigan Avenue and Garrison who have no clue how to make a proper turn. A lousy 50 CENTS wouldn’t be a problem if the meter wasn’t ticking away and your bill wasn’t going up to a couple dollars. If you spent 3 bucks a few times a week it would add up to quite a little sum over a month. Probably enough to go out to dinner one more time. And in this economy more people are paying closer attention to every penny that is going out. A few years ago it may not have been a problem, but these days a lot of people just don’t want to spend the extra cash. If that isn’t true than why are the only new businesses going in a Family Dollar and a resale shop and why were we the chosen location for Panera Cares? Paid parking and bargain basement stores just don’t mix. It’s just a sign of the times. This isn’t the right time for paid parking.
November 16th, 2011 at 12:01 am
why would anyone by there when they could go to the greenfield plaza blgd at 8 mile and Greenfield and see theee most honest guy in the jewelry business. and he does watch repairs also.
November 16th, 2011 at 9:09 am
merchants gives you the parking money if you bring in your ticket.
November 17th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
I can tell you as someone who works in West Dearborn paid parking is an issue. We hear people complain day in and day out about it. We are judged by our paid parking lot and even have people bring in their tickets expecting us to pay for them. It also is a hindrance for our employees who already struggle to have to pay Bills in these tough economic times to have to pay to park at work. Everything seems to be done backwords in this city.
November 18th, 2011 at 6:37 am
Le Cigar… La Hookah?
La Mybreathstinks. This is surely what Dearborn needs, more places to legally smoke indoors.
November 18th, 2011 at 11:17 am
You are right. It is wrong for this city to continue with paid parking. Last year paid parking added over $600,000 to the city’s deficit. So what does council do? Raise rates. I doubt this will bring paid parking into the black, but will rather only further anger residents. Paid parking is a dismal failure here and someone needs to say enough is enough. If anything they should lower the rates. And Bob is right that the offerings aren’t particularly great. So why on earth would someone want to pay extra just to go to these places? Ann Arbor and Royal Oak can get away with charging because you can go there and find stuff to do for the whole day. What can you do in the west downtown but go from restaurant from restaurant? There’s not a balanced mix of businesses. Let’s keep working toward that though because it would be pretty cool.
November 18th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Yes, I do miss Jacobson’s and Price’s. I won’t miss overpriced ice cream. And before any here starts to criticize me for being overly sentimental, please remember that those of us who have been in this town long enough to remember that Jake’s and Price’s were pillars in west Dearborn. I can’t say if any of the current businesses can make that boast. I hope one day a business in west Dearborn can say that.
November 19th, 2011 at 7:46 am
If your employer is not paying a special assessment to pay for the parking that his customers use, and he or she is NOT in favor of paid parking, and it’s already been established that the taxpayers don’t want to pay for the parking that his customers use, what the heck is your solution? Why WOULDN’T you pay for individual customers’ parking if all of the above are true? Who do you think should pay for the parking lots if your employer, your customers and the taxpayers don’t want to pay?
November 19th, 2011 at 10:44 am
Knowing that at one time, downtown west Dearborn (DTWD) was THE shopping destination for Dearborn and the surrounding communities and knowing the ample variety of stores we had, it just makes me extremely sad to see what a sorry state DTWD is in.
November 19th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
My statements are in response to people who believe paid parking in not a deterrent. It clearly is.
November 19th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Somehow the parking lots managed to get paid for all these years. The city decided to pay all that money for parking meters, parking decks and parking attendants THAT’S WHERE ALL THE MONEY IS GOING. The lots have been there for years and weren’t that big of an expense. Spending all that money on meters, structures and employees before the businesses were built is the fault of poor planning on the city’s part and now they are making everyone else pay for THEIR MISTAKE instead of admitting it isn’t working out and cutting their losses now and allowing the downtown area to grow.
November 20th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Maybe when people stop walking away from debt that they agreed to pay things will get better. We became an inevitably disposable society when the first exurb was built. Don’t like what’s going on around you….move…Don’t like the fact that your house is worth less than you owe on it…walk away….Who cares about those left holding the bag?
November 20th, 2011 at 8:59 am
“Somehow the parking lots managed to get paid for all these years.”
They “somehow managed to get paid for”???? Yeah…Must have been the parking lot gnomes who were paying for parking all those years…not the business owners through a special assessment which they then decided they did not want to pay anymore. I agree that it was stupid to agree to build the parking decks for Burton Katzman without having an “out” should they go belly-up and refuse to build the hotel or whatever was going to go between the decks.
November 21st, 2011 at 10:13 am
My point was that it’s not the lots themselves that are costing the money. Yes they need to be maintained and snow plowed. But the larger issue is the bill for all those parking meters, parking decks and parking attendants and enforcement people. There is still a bill for all of that and paid parking isn’t making nearly enough to cover it all even with the new higher rates. So all it is doing is killing business down there. I don’t know that the lots themselves are that expensive to maintain compared to the lots with all those parking meters and attendants. So, this giant bill was created by poor choices by our leaders and now they want the people to foot the bill for it and in the mean time it is killing business down there and they won’t admit it. And the reason it’s killing business is that there is nothing that great down there to make people go down there and shell out money to park for. So nobody is going down there, yet they are still paying attendants, parking enforcers and servicing meters etc… with money the city doesn’t have for a project that obviously failed. Do you understand where I am coming from now?
November 23rd, 2011 at 6:48 am
It’s a good place now for getting out to walk.
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:44 am
All good points, but particularly with the Administration being completely out of their league on development, and HF’s ability to postpone the day of reckoning, again and again. Does he have naughty pictures of the Mayor or something?
Didn’t the law department require their preferred developer to post a bond to insure that his developments were timely and professionaly completed? Bet I know the answer to that one.
Drove by the old Vic Tanny yesterday – another proud development by Mr. Fakehurry -saw the big stake truck he usually parks at his house – just stringing the City along, letting his dumpsite fester.
The fact that the City bought his act in the first place “boggles the mind.” That they have let him play them for the fool – I guess if the shoe fits . . .
The rats have really settled in for the long haul.