Hazel Park gets tax credits to redevelop 8 Mile parcels

A number of investors are working to turn Eight Mile Road into something more than the gritty byway made famous by the likes of Coleman Young and Eminem.

The latest evidence is about to appear in Hazel Park’s section of the what’s not commonly known as M-102. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority has approved $1 million in tax incentives for the Gateway Crossing development where Hazel Park, Warren and Detroit meet.

“We’re really please about this because that property has been sitting vacant for more than a decade,” says Tami Salisbury, executive director of the 8 Mile Boulevard Association. “This will help a lot.”

Two buildings currently sit on the 7.4 acres. The first is a 70,000-square-foot structure that has served as a Federal’s department store and a Warehouse Club. The other is a 14,000-square-foot commercial building.

Both will be demolished this spring to make way for a 45,000-square-foot shopping center that will house a Sav-A-Lot grocery store and other small businesses. The project is expected to open some of that retail space this fall and finish off the project shortly after it.

The $11.9 million project is expected to create 250 new jobs.

Source: Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Tami Salisbury, executive director of the 8 Mile Boulevard Association and Peter Najar, the developer of Gateway Crossing
Writer: Jon Zemke