Meijer is looking to add more development to one of Grand Rapids's busiest commercial corners, with new plans calling for a drive-thru coffee shop and a building offering financial services at the southeast corner of 28th Street SE and Kalamazoo Avenue SE. The proposed buildings would sit across from the retailer's grocery store and near its existing gas station at the intersection.
The retail giant submitted a site plan review application on October 12, according to WOODTV.com, which first reported the filing. Meijer's proposal calls for a mix of retail, office and quick-service restaurant uses, and the company has submitted two separate special land use requests tied to the project: one for the coffee shop and another for a commercial development providing financial services.
Both proposed uses would offer walk-in and drive-thru service, per the station's reporting. The site plan lays out four outlots arranged around a shared access and circulation system that would connect to the existing Meijer store and the neighboring Meijer Express gas station, according to the application.
What the New Buildings Would Look Like
The proposed buildings would be visible from 28th Street, and the application describes the intended appearance as attractive and pedestrian-friendly. The development also includes parking, though the application reviewed by the station does not specify building sizes, construction costs or a timeline for the project.
Both the special land use applications and the site plan review are subject to Planning Commission review, the report notes. It remains unclear whether the commission has scheduled a hearing or made any decision on the applications.
A Corner With a Recent History of Change
The corner has already seen significant turnover in recent years. Meijer purchased the land from the Christian Reformed Church in North America in 2024, with mlive.com reporting the sale price at $7.35 million in property records, while a separate account from WOODTV.com put the purchase price at $7.4 million. Meijer then demolished the former CRCNA headquarters building on the site that same year.
In its place, Meijer built a new Meijer Express gas station, which opened at the intersection about a year before this latest proposal surfaced. An earlier version of the broader redevelopment plan, detailed in mlive.com's reporting from March 2025, called for a 5,600-square-foot, single-story convenience store and gas station operating 24 hours a day, with seven fuel pumps, 22 parking spaces and four electric vehicle charging stations.
That earlier plan would have used about three of the property's 11 acres, leaving room for four future developments — language that lines up with the four outlots now described in Meijer's new site plan. Meijer had also previously floated the possibility of additional commercial and residential development on the remainder of the former headquarters property, according to the same outlet's coverage of the demolition.
Road Construction Looms Over the Timeline
Any new construction at the corner would arrive as 28th Street itself undergoes a major overhaul. The Michigan Department of Transportation is planning a $30 million reconstruction of roughly two miles of the road, known as the M-11 state trunkline, between Division Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue, the outlet reported this past summer.
Preliminary work on that project is set to begin this fall, with the bulk of construction happening in 2027 from early spring through late fall. During most of that construction season, only one lane of traffic is expected to be open in each direction along 28th Street, though access to businesses along the corridor is expected to remain available.
