Addition next to Dollar Tree in Washtenaw retail center heads to Ann Arbor Planning Commission

A rendering of what the retail center on Washtenaw Avenue would look like after the upgrades.

Damian Farrell Design Group | for AnnArbor.com

A request to build additional retail space next to the Dollar Tree on Washtenaw Avenue is set to be reviewed by the Ann Arbor Planning Commission this week, marking the first step in what was originally presented as a larger plan to redevelop the complex.

The 9,500-square-foot addition had been planned as part of a $3 million upgrade to the retail center, which is on the south side of Washtenaw across from Arborland Center and about 1/4-mile from the US-23 intersection.

Other tenants in the center include Casual Male Big & Tall, Mattress World and destination specialty stores.

Phase 1 of the plan included redoing the exterior of the Dollar Tree and adding an addition onto the building where Frank’s Nursery outdoor sales center once occupied the far east side of the property.

Phase 2 was to add nearly 14,000 square feet of retail space to “join” the gaps between other buildings in the center, which were built separately in the 1950s or 1960s.

However, the only thing facing a Planning Commission vote is the building addition next to the Dollar Tree and some visual improvements, said Damian Farrell, the architect who represents owner Duane Renken.

“At the moment, the concept of Phase 2 is not even in consideration,” he said.

The addition would make room for up to three new retailers in a prominent location on Washtenaw Avenue. Michael Lippitt of Landmark Commercial is marketing the proposed space.

“We have a lot of tenant interest,” Lippitt said. “We have one 4,500-square-foot national retail chain for the east end cap and can split the balance into one or two more units.”

Lippitt and Farrell declined to name the national retail chain.

The plan also includes visual improvements at the center, such as trimming the number of parking spaces by adding new storm water management in the form of “bioswales,” or treed islands at multiple intervals in the existing parking lot.

Farrell said the project would make the area more appealing, benefiting nearby retailers and the community.

“I think hopefully it will be a good thing for some of the retailers in that area to at least see one project be updated and refreshed,” Farrell said. “It will definitely help that area.”

The Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday on the 2nd floor of the Ann Arbor Municipal Center. Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.

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