Cabela's outfitters and sporting goods mega-store will open next year on a 43-acre retail development just east of Rivertown Crossings mall in Grandville. The new store could create some 200 new part- and full-time retail positions.
The 88,000-square-foot store will be in a stand-alone building, but will be a major player in a planned shopping center under development by
CWD Real Estate Investment on the former X-Rite, Inc. property at Ivanrest and 44th St. SE. It will be the sporting goods retailer's second store in Michigan; the first store is in Dundee.
"Clearly, having a destination retailer like Cabela's is something we don't have in the region," says CWD Managing Partner Scott Wierda. "They can expand anywhere and they chose our market. They didn't come for tax incentives, they came for the market. It shows that the changes and transitions in West Michigan are positive."
Wierda says that CWD bought the property in 2009 on speculation, and felt that all the fundamentals were there for the retail market, but the economy wasn't ready. "We put together a plan and then along came Cabela's. This was not developed with them in mind, that's for sure."
Cabela's wanted to be located in a developed retail market, says Wierda, and the location so close to Rivertown was appealing. He adds that Cabela's draws customers from about a 90-mile area, and that bodes well for West Michigan.
The store will open in early 2013.
Source: Scott Wierda, CWD Real Estate Investment
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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