New owners plan upgrades to Bel-Mark bowling alley on Jackson Road

A family that's owned Â a Detroit-area bowling alley for more than 50 years is the new owner of Bel-Mark Lanes on Jackson Road, where they plan extensive upgrades.

Coming improvements include kitchen and bar renovations, exterior upgrades, new ceiling tiles and security system and a barrier-free bowling area.

Next on the list might be an eight-lane private bowling suite and outdoor sports on the property, like miniature golf and beach volleyball.

"You won't recognize the place when we're done," new owner Bob Smoltz said.

Smoltz said his sons Marc and Craig will operate the alley. The family has owned and operated Ford Lanes in Dearborn Heights for five decades and over three generations.

"We're here for the long term," Marc Smoltz added.

The 35,000-square-foot building on Â 4.6 acres was listed for sale by previous owners Ron Cockfield, Jim Moceri and several of their family members late last year. The asking price was $3.5 million at the time, and the property - located just west of Wagner RoadÂ in Scio Township - was marketed as a redevelopment opportunity for large retailers.

According to township records, an LLC associated with the Smoltzes paid $1 million for the property in a sale that closed Aug. 25.

Jim Porth, one of the brokers for Thomas A. Duke Co. who represented the sellers, said the recession simply chased potential redevelopers out of the market.

"There just isn't any money out there" for large redevelopment projects, he said.

The Smoltzes were represented in the transaction by Sandy Hansell & Associates, a Southfield firm that specializes in bowling alleys.

Bob Smoltz declined to speculate on whether he would have paid more for the bowling alley in a stronger real estate market.Â

But Marc Smoltz said the economy hasn't dramatically curtailed the number of people that bowl.Â According to the United States Bowling Congress, Michigan has the highest numbers of adult bowling league members at 192,320 as of last summer.

"Bowling is still affordable entertainment," Marc Smoltz said.

Bob Smoltz said Bel-Mark's proximity to the Goodrich Quality 16 movie theater, I-94 and the University of Michigan were all factors that attracted the family to purchasing the bowling alley. He said he's enlisted the help of Dynamic Designs & Associates of Birmingham, a design company that focuses on restaurants, bars and family entertainment centers.

Marc said the extensive upgrades at Ford Lanes -- which include pizzeria-style pizza ovens and room for corporate and fund-raising events -- will be duplicated at Belmark.

"We see the same opportunities here that we accomplished at Ford Lanes," he said.

Photo by Dan Meisler | Marc Smoltz, left, and his father Bob Smoltz are planning extensive upgrades to the Bel-Mark bowling alley on Jackson Road west of Ann Arbor.

Freelance reporter Dan Meisler can be reached at danmeisler@gmail.com.