Developers Hear Complaints About Proposed Woodward Mall
DETROIT (WWJ) - Eight years after it was initially announced, developers of a proposed shopping center at Eight Mile and Woodward Avenue say they will break ground on the mall in November. They heard complaints about the project Thursday.
A Meijer and Marshalls store will anchor the "Gateway Marketplace" on the southeast corner of Eight Mile and Woodward.
Woodward Avenue Action Association Program manager Jason Fowler is among those who are not happy with the mall's design.
Fowler said plans show the main entrance to Meijer will be a quarter-mile away from Woodward Avenue. "The focus is mostly on the automobile, and we believe (the design) is hostile to pedestrians," Fowler said.
"It does not enhance the appearance of the Woodward corridors, so much so that loading docks and rears of buildings are facing our major thoroughfares. There are berms and fences," he said.
The project is also being criticized by local residents who say it is not attracting the upscale stores that were once promised.
Developers responded by saying the design is a work in progress.
