Norton Shores strip mall improvements
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – An aging, nearly empty strip mall on busy Henry Street near Muskegon is getting upgrades to blend it in with a new medical facility nearby.
Norton Shores Plaza, on Henry between Seminole Road and Norton Avenue, has one tenant – a frozen yogurt franchise – and previously housed a popular breakfast joint and a cinema.
Owner, Muskegon Associates LLC, plans to refurbish the exterior façade and interior spaces at the 32,000-square-foot strip mall.
The design of the modernized strip mall will match the adjacent Trinity Health medical center, according to information provided to the city of Norton Shores.
The medical center was part of the original development plan for the property that once housed a Kmart store. The store has been demolished to make way for 126 planned apartments at the site.
However, the apartment construction remains on hold, Norton Shores City Administrator Mark Meyers told MLive/The Muskegon Chronicle.
Plans for the strip mall include addition of a drive-up window on its east side, farthest from Henry Street.
The section closest to Henry Street is a former movie theater, most recently housing Harbor Cinema until it closed about two years ago.
After that, the departure of the Toast ‘N Jams lunch and breakfast spot, which moved to a new location on Seminole, left a TCBY yogurt franchise as the only remaining tenant.
However, it’s hoped the opening of the new Trinity Health facility can breathe new life into the old mall, attracting businesses and services to serve Trinity employees, Meyers said.
The 42,000-square-foot medical facility that opened in January 2021, includes primary care, pharmacy, X-ray, laboratory, urgent care and more.
Related: Seminole Road reconstruction to resume soon in Norton Shores
Earlier this year, the Norton Shores City Council approved a special use permit allowing for the improvements to the strip mall.
Among those improvements are the use of new brick and cement board to reclad the building, which is constructed of fluted block; updated canopies; LED lighting; and new storefronts with insulated glass, according to information submitted to the council by Michael Rossi of Muskegon Associates, which is based in New York City and is part of the RD Management property owner and management company.
Plans also involve parking lot improvements, including landscaped islands, new lighting and new chip seal coating on the asphalt. In addition, landscaping will include 106 new trees and shrubs, according to Muskegon Associates’ special use permit application.
When contacted by MLive, Rossi said he did not know why construction of the apartments is on hold.
The Kmart store anchored the plaza for 33 years before it closed in 2004. The building later housed a Valueland secondhand store before being demolished in 2019.
Over the years, an array of retailers and restaurants called the site home, including Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft, the Bamboo Buffet Chinese restaurant and Burcos Gourmet Tacos.
RD Management had listed the property for sale in 2017, but it has since been removed from the market. At that time, Mayor Gary Nelund told MLive that the property listing was a positive sign as the city had been trying for years to get the owners to repair the buildings or sell them.
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