The Observation Deck

Does anyone know what is going in at the old gas station on the corner of Manor Park and Detroit?

Geoff Wopershall wrote:Does anyone know what is going in at the old gas station on the corner of Manor Park and Detroit?

Small 5 storefront strip mall, with Domino Pizza currently next to Dollar General as the anchor.

As of last week none of the other spaces were spoken for.

.

Prolific!

Thanks for the info.

Hey, maybe it will be a Dollar Tree (since we already have two Dollar Generals...) to help us through the tough times ahead!

cameron karslake wrote:Hey, maybe it will be a Dollar Tree (since we already have two Dollar Generals...) to help us through the tough times ahead!

Cameron

We already have a Dollar Tree, the upscale dollar store according to their stock offering, next to Clifton Park.

The space is not that big, and I cannot imagine the stores being that large.

The wonderful archive of the Lakewood Observer/Deck - Do a search for "dollar tree" you will love how deep we dug.

http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewt ... ee#p106158

.

You know, you see these stores all over, and they become a blur.

Thanks for setting me straight Jim and here's to the hope another type of business moves in to whatever is happening over there. I just hope they were able to remove the old gas tanks while preparing the site without incident.

cameron karslake wrote:You know, you see these stores all over, and they become a blur.

Thanks for setting me straight Jim and here's to the hope another type of business moves in to whatever is happening over there. I just hope they were able to remove the old gas tanks while preparing the site without incident.

Cameron

The site was owned by Ralph Miller who also owns the Sunoco station at Lakewood and Detroit. I believe the tanks were removed without incident.

Our concern was that the regime of Foram, Crampton, Strachan, etc had talked of "high end shopping" while producing Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar, and strip malls like Marcs, the WestEnd Project, and now Manor Park at the entrance to "DowntowN" so we went and looked into it. Lorain put a moratorium on it, while Mayor Summers told us how they fit in with Lakewood new lifestyle. "Like dime stores." They are but they are also used as economic indicators by outsiders.

Foran and friends love strip malls.

.

the hostility towards dollar stores around here is silly. people here rail about the basketball hoops being closed and then claim that the city has a problem with "those people" yet when the city lets affordable outlets for "those people" to shop at then up springs the indignation. have any of you shopped at any of these discount stores? I do. all of them. I save tons of cash doing so. the stores are always full of people. I guess that's a bad thing though.

and speaking of economics in Lakewood, I live on Madison and mars. I look out my window and Madison is hopping. every single nite. we have a joke around here that if there aren't cars on Madison then it must be the apocalypse because nothing seems to stop the onslaught of money being spent on Madison. not weather, not browns losses. nothing. and that's just a cross section of Lakewood.

Lakewood is thriving. there is much to be proud of. broaden you focus and maybe you too will see it.

kate e parker wrote:the hostility towards dollar stores around here is silly.

Kate

More BS not facts.

Ken Dan and I went to every store, we examined their business plans, and understood what they meant.

I am also on record saying I wish every store had the same business plan as Dollar General, giving 10% back to the community for education is a great policy and make them good partners in a city.

At the same time, we spent $MILLIONS on "DowntowN to attract high end shopping." Now at the end of the day, we get what we get. Marc's Plaza is packed, and every storefront full hard to argue with it. JUST DON'T SELL IT TO ME AS HIGH END. Honesty, transparency.

Dollar stores are great economic indicators. Read their portfolios. Dollar General is aimed at mid-income areas. Family Dollar, lower mid level income and lower and Family Dollar at the time we looked into it was upper middle income. They become economic indicators with other businesses, as "Dollars Stores" do their homework.

So chill, no bashing just facts.

.

it's a fact that there are multiple threads on the digital fence about the calamity of dollar stores.

again, I find it amusing that lower income individuals and/or families are used so callously on this forum. they matter when it comes to the hospital but not when it comes to feeding and clothing their families? they should get health care but not a good deal on toilet paper?

what sort of "high end" are you speaking of? I know that I can get high end chocolate here. high end organic. high end bread. high end sheets and pillowcases. high end skis. high end pizza. high end cell phones of every sort (wonder why you don't complain about this). high end cars. high end scooters. what exactly do you mean by high end?

forest. trees.

kate e parker wrote:it's a fact that there are multiple threads on the digital fence about the calamity of dollar stores.

again, I find it amusing that lower income individuals and/or families are used so callously on this forum. they matter when it comes to the hospital but not when it comes to feeding and clothing their families? they should get health care but not a good deal on toilet paper?

what sort of "high end" are you speaking of? I know that I can get high end chocolate here. high end organic. high end bread. high end sheets and pillowcases. high end skis. high end pizza. high end cell phones of every sort (wonder why you don't complain about this). high end cars. high end scooters. what exactly do you mean by high end?

forest. trees.

Kate

I agree the poor, the black, the women, the fat old irish guys are often used as tools and talking points.

Kate, I was not talking of high end. The people that convinced us to build Marc's were, before it became Marc's. The people that demanded a new DowntowN logo and presences did. This was all for high end shopping. Never mind if the community could actually support it, this is what we were told they were doing.

In other words, we never get what they promise.

.