A rolling stone: Peacock Rocks brings minerals, fossils to Bridgman

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By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BRIDGMAN — Very few people understand what lays underneath their feet.

But Adrian Quint does.

For more than 40 years, Quint has spent time searching for rocks, minerals and fossils. After all that time, the Benton Harbor native decided to open a shop called Peacock Rocks that would sell those very items.

“Rocks are a great example of how you can’t judge a book by its cover. From the outside, geodes look to be ordinary. You would step on them and wouldn’t think about twice about it. But inside there’s so much more to it. It’s funny because people will spend thousands of dollars for a cut-faceted stone in a ring.”

The business opened at 9798 Red Arrow Highway in Bridgman on Oct. 3.

Each rock showcased has a slip of paper underneath or attached to it, highlighting the rock’s price, name and location it was found in.

In addition to the rocks, minerals and fossils, Peacock Rocks sells posters and jewelry that pertain to his other items. The largest rock sold at his establishment is a 280-pound geode that rests at the front corner of the store.

Quint, a Bridgman resident, said he became interested in rocks and other minerals through his parents.

The three of them would go on field trips out to a quarry, mountainside and beaches in search for rocks together. From there, it grew from a hobby into a lifestyle.

“My dad taught earth science. My mom came into it and learned to appreciate it,” he said. “He was the main one who went on rock collecting trips. I was brought along over the course of that.”

Quint earned a degree in geology and kept collecting until he hardly had any room left.

He began selling at various craft shows and “rock shows,” which don’t have anything to do with music. While he’s sold rocks for about two decades, Quint’s path toward opening Peacock Rocks has been a progressive one.

For his first craft shows, he only had a 6-foot table. Within a year Quint collected enough to sell for about 12 feet of table space. In the next five years he was selling between 20 and 30 feet worth of table space. Now he would have no trouble filling 80 feet of table space.

Instead, Quint fills an entire showroom of rocks and minerals.

“I do this to show the general public that there’s more out there than just the rocks you see on the beach,” he said. “Any rock can be special or significant or have that spark.”

Opening Peacock Rocks was a way of getting all his rocks in one location, Quint said. His plans will be to expand his operation and potentially add services that include polishing rocks.

Until then, he plans on focusing on getting more rocks and customers.

“My favorite part is seeing the kids’ expressions when they see a rock and go ‘Oh, wow!’ You see the light bulb click on and their eyes get really big,” Quint said. “Then I get to explain why the stone is that color or what features reveal where it came from. Even some of the adults do the same thing.”

Peacock Rocks is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and closed for Sunday and Tuesday. Quint said they are also open by appointment.

Anyone interested in learning more about the new business can visit the Bridgman location or call the shop at 269-277-8844 or Quint’s wife at 269-923-9410.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 25, 2016)

Trustees approve women’s health center site plans

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BENTON TOWNSHIP — InterCare Community Health Network will have another freestanding medical clinic built alongside its Benton Township location in 2017.

Township trustees approved site plans for a women’s health center during Tuesday’s board meeting, which will be built next to Intercare’s Benton Harbor Health Center at 800 M-139.

Tracy Ezell, senior architect and project manager with Byce & Associates, said the proposed building would be directly north of the existing 800 M-139 clinic. The township assigned an address of 796 M-139 to the future building.

The network received notification this year it was a recipient of a $1 million federal grant from the Affordable Care Act’s Community Health Center Fund. This led to plans for the women’s health clinic.

The 1.5-acre property will make way for a 9,500-square-foot women’s health clinic, which InterCare will use for prenatal care and other services.

Ezell told trustees it was a long-term goal to use the land north of the clinic.

“Shortly after the first clinic was built, Lakeland Health transferred most of their women’s health care for prenatal care to the InterCare organization,” Ezell said Tuesday. “Those services are currently housed in the original clinic, which was built for overall general health care. That function will be removed from the original InterCare facility and moved next door.”

The proposed health center would be next to the original InterCare clinic, but would not be physically connected.

According to meeting minutes from the township’s planning commission, InterCare officials anticipate moving most of the staff from the existing clinic to the new building. A few additional employees may be needed.

The revised site plan shows 45 new parking spaces with some of the overflow parking to be provided by the InterCare clinic to the south.

“It’s going to be a shared entry drive,” Ezell said. “When the original project was completed, this drive was planned to service any future project. There are provisions for overflow parking, which would be handled by the main site. It’s a campus plan of sorts.”

A number of patients will be using public transportation, also reducing the need for additional spaces. The site proposes to provide an area for stormwater management – the northeast part of the parcel – under Berrien County Drain Commission review and permits.

Ezell said the extra space in the existing clinic, which was built in 2011, will allow them to systematically renovate space as needed of the new model of health care and plan for growth at the main clinic.

“I’d like to thank you for your proactive runoff plans that you have and integrated into your parking areas,” said Treasurer Debbie Boothby at Tuesday’s meeting. “That has been noticed and mentioned throughout the community.”

InterCare Community Health Network announced plans in 2009 to move its Benton Harbor clinics from the former Mercy Center to a consolidated clinic to be built a few blocks away at the corner of M-139 and Empire Avenue.

InterCare’s West Michigan network, based Bangor, serves more than 50,000 low-income patients each year.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 23, 2016)

A revolving door for restaurants: Cafe Mosaic looks to bring stability to Main Street

Harbor Dog and Sliders, previously located at 325 W. Main St. in Benton Harbor, was open for nearly a year before it closed in 2015. The site will be soon be occupied by Cafe Mosaic. (HP file photo)

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BENTON HARBOR — The bright red building in the heart of Benton Harbor is hard to miss.

With the roof meeting at a point, almost steeple-like, there’s also a towering sign adjacent to the structure with the letters F-O-O-D running vertically down either side for anyone traveling the speed limit to know what is sold there.

The building has had several incarnations since it was erected in the 1930s, but lately not many have found success at the location for more than a couple years.

Cafe Mosaic hopes to break that trend as it plans the move to its new home at 325 W. Main St.

Ric Pawloski, executive director of the nonprofit Mosaic Christian Community Development Association, said Mosaic Resale Store opened in Benton Township in 2010. When the resale store relocated to 510 W. Main Street in 2012, Cafe Mosaic debuted.

He predicts the cafe will be just fine at the new location.

Mosaic has until the end of July 2017 to move out of the building it is renting. Whirlpool Corp. bought the building a couple years ago to make way for more parking for its Riverview Campus.

“The cafe will be more stable here because we own the building,” Pawloski said.

The building at 325 Main St. has been home to several diners over the years, from King Kong Xpress – the most recent eatery – to Bonnie’s Breakfast Nook, the All American Diner and Harbor Dogs & Sliders.

For a number of years dating back to the 1950s and into the early 1970s, Bob’s Snappy Service was a mainstay.

Greg Vaughn, chief operating officer and vice president of business development at Cornerstone Alliance, recalls that business having a loyal following.

Vaughn said they were known by many of their customers as the place to go for a hearty breakfast and easily recognized by the iconic neon sign in front of the building.

Harbortown Cafe was in the location for about three years in the mid 2000s, with Cornerstone Alliance assisting the owners to figure out financing.

Willy Lark, owner of Lark’s Bar-B-Que, began his business out of 440 W. Main St. – a block down from the location that’s served as a revolving door for restaurants and diners.

While they moved further away in 2013, Lark said he’s seen several businesses go through the building over the past 20 years.

“I’ve seen a lot of them come through there, but the only one I really remember was Bonnie’s,” Lark said. “Bonnie’s was mostly a breakfast stop. I liked them.”

King Kong Xpress opened in mid-December 2015, but closed after only about a year.

Harbor Dogs and Sliders opened July 2014, after getting word the previous June that the location was available. Three business partners came up with a business plan in six weeks before closing on the sale.

But it also closed after about a year.

Harbor Dogs wasn’t the first purveyor of hot dogs to land in the building. According to Herald-Palladium archives, the All American Diner opened in October 2003. The restaurant offered 99-cent hot dogs, Chicago-style on Mondays and Detroit-style dogs on Wednesdays.

Vaughn predicts Mosaic will buck the trend because it has proven its ability to operate successfully in the downtown.

“They know the market, and like most of the existing eateries in downtown Benton Harbor, they have a following that will likely increase at their new location,” Vaughn wrote in an email. “They should continue this success in this landmark building, especially now that Whirlpool has added over 1,000 employees with the completion of their third building at the Riverview Campus just down the street.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 20, 2016)

Classic Nintendo console a hot commodity

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BENTON TOWNSHIP — Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition video game console has become one of this year’s hottest holiday gifts, making it difficult to find in stores.

However, the console was scheduled to be sold today at most Best Buy retailers, including the one in Benton Township.

The NES Classic Edition is a replica of the original NES system that comes with a built-in library of 30 retro games such as “Super Mario Bros.” and “The Legend of Zelda.”

“Best Buy expects to have only limited quantities available on Dec. 20 that will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis in bricks and mortar stores, but not online,” a store news release stated.

Since there were limited quantities, the Benton Township store treated the release like that of the Black Friday ticketing process. The amount of tickets handed out equaled the amount of consoles available.

No other businesses in Southwest Michigan would confirm plans to sell the consoles today.

Nintendo released the NES Classic Edition in the United States on Nov. 10. The $60 device is being marketed to nostalgic gamers who remember the old games.

The NES Classic Edition sold out at retailers across the world soon after it was made available. Some customers who found consoles have tried selling them online for more than the retail price. In some instances, the consoles have surpassed the $300 mark when resold on eBay.

Officials from the GameStop, Best Buy and Target in Benton Township said their businesses only received a few consoles in November, which sold out within a few hours.

Retailers in the Twin Cities area said they had people travel to their store from Kalamazoo, South Bend and Chicago in search of the game player in November.

The console features the same design as the original console, but is smaller. Nintendo’s hardware also isn’t compatible with game cartridges, so users are only able to play the 30 games that come pre-loaded.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 20, 2016)

Haven of Christmas trees: Bredeweg Acres closes in on 30 years of business

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

STEVENSVILLE — Roger Bredeweg has made a living with spruces and pine trees for nearly three decades.

As owner and operator of Bredeweg Acres, which rests along Rockey Weed Road on the outskirts of Stevensville, Bredeweg is in the business of selling both tradition and Christmas trees.

Roger Bredeweg drills a hole in the bottom of a tree Sunday night on his Stevensville property. The hole allows the tree to be anchored into an answer stand. (Tony Wittkowski | HP Staff)

The farm, which also produces blueberries for sale from July to August, has allowed Bredeweg to sell more than 500 trees this year.

Christmas trees, no matter what their breed, require a lot of care before and after they are harvested, Bredeweg said. That’s why he has a three-step process before customers drive away with holiday shrub on top of the car.

After a tree is chosen, Bredeweg drills a hole at the bottom end of the tree’s trunk, before placing it in a stand and shaking the tree to ensure all debris is off of the branches.

The farm offers pre-cut and “U-cut” trees. The U-cut trees allow families to cut them down themselves. Bredeweg said the tradition of doing so is like no other.

“Families go out and cut them down themselves. A lot of families like to do the whole routine of walking through the snow and picking one out,” he said. “What I like best is when we see the same families come back, year after year, and I recognize the faces. You see the kids get older. Some have been here 20 years and go on to pass the routine to their kids.”

Nothing goes to waste. Some of the green trimmings are sold to be used for platters and flower pots, even the occasional wreath.

Normally, it takes eight to 10 years for a tree to grow before they are cut down for sale. This year, Bredeweg said they brought some of them up early to make up for what was lost in the field in previous seasons.

In 2007, the farm lost a lot of trees because it was too wet and a few drowned. In 2012, Bredeweg saw the opposite of that occurred as some were lost because the conditions became too dry.

His  tree inventory can sometimes feel the impact of a crop’s loss for years after because of how long they take to grow and mature.

How it started

Bredeweg said it all began when he was working at LECO Corp. in 1988. When they bought the farm, there were already a few trees on the land.

“I began planting trees and kept it up,” he said. “In the beginning, I just told people to drive around back and pick up a tree. Both the trees and blueberries were here when we started and I expanded it from there. I’ve always liked trees.”

Sales have been good for Bredeweg and the seven acres he has dedicated to Christmas trees. In fact, he said it’s been better than the year before.

The most popular day of the year for the tree portion of his business is the day after Thanksgiving. The following weekend can be busy too – enough to the point where he requires additional help.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” he said. “We get people that are local, but some from Chicago and the east side of the state.”

The Stevensville farmer has made a tradition of giving away a specific ornament that differs each year. Bredeweg sells the Christmas ornaments out of a chicken coop-turned Christmas gift shop.

The idea to do so came from a convention he attended in 1996.

“They suggested giving an ornament away as a way to promote your business,” Bredeweg said. “That way if a family comes here every year and collects them all, they could have about 20 years worth of ornaments.”

Picking the tree

The one thing that has changed is the variety of trees they offer.

Bredeweg recalled a time when they offered various pines, Douglas firs and blue spruces. Nowadays, most come for the Fraser fir.

The Fraser is favored because they have firm needles, grow straight, have a good color and hold stiff branches that allow people to hang more ornaments.

Over the years, Bredeweg has his routine down when it comes to tying down the trees. In addition to those services, Bredeweg allows customers to prepay for a tree for those who want to wait for their children to come home for Christmas.

In fact the one thing that’s kept him coming back each year are the people.

“I enjoy this. I grew up on a farm and I like seeing things grow and develop and meeting new people,” Bredeweg said. “The people are a big part of it.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 19, 2016)

An innovative four months: Lakeshore students finish Innovation Challenge at Whirlpool

Sami Weaver points out a feature to the “Bio Fusion” alongside her teammate Emma Woodard on Friday inside Whirlpool Corp.’s Riverview Campus. The two Lakeshore High School students were pitching their 2016 Innovation Challenge product during the idea fair segment. (Tony Wittkowski | HP Staff)

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BENTON HARBOR — Nearly 100 Lakeshore High School students gathered at Whirlpool Corp.’s Riverview Campus on Friday to celebrate and reap the benefits of four months of work.

Students from ninth to 12th grade were asked to take part in the 2016 Innovation Challenge. Through weekly sessions in Lakeshore’s Math and Science Center, groups of students were tasked with creating a product that would alleviate the amount of food waste in common households, while pitching it to various Whirlpool executives.

Ellen Dutton, product marketing manager at Whirlpool, coordinated this year’s Innovation Challenge. She said each year participating students are given a problem they must solve with a product that can benefit the home consumer.

The home appliance maker chose Lakeshore because the school had accessible time during the school day to work on the projects, Dutton said.

“This is the first time we’ve done this locally,” Dutton said. “On the third day of school in September, we introduced them to the challenge. We know consumers waste a lot of food because they go out to restaurants and never eat them when taking it home. This was a real problem they were facing.”

Food getting spoiled was also a parameter students were asked to look at.

But participating students weren’t left alone. Whirlpool provided mentors for all 20 teams of students – 10 of which made the final cut in mid-November to present to the four judges on Friday.

Those 10 teams visited Notre Dame’s Innovation Center in South Bend for feedback from entrepreneurs before presenting their final plans to Whirlpool executives in December.

Lakeshore High School students gather around their 2016 Innovation Challenge presentations Friday in the atrium of Whirlpool Corp.’s Riverview Campus. (Tony Wittkowski | HP Staff)

Students were given weekly access to mentors where they were given real data from surveyed consumers because of their link to Whirlpool mentors. During the first four weeks, students did nothing but consumer research to learn more about the problem they faced.

Lakeshore junior Natalie Stampfly said her team’s research ranged from surveys to thumbing through books.

Stampfly’s team ended up winning the grand prize among the upperclass teams. Their pitch was for a product called ZAPPET, a UV light that could help slow down food’s decomposition.

Like other groups, they sent out multiple surveys and talked to as many people as they could. She said the most surprising aspect of their experience was learning how well UV light kills bacteria.

“We started off with making it a pre-installed thing, but discovered people wanted it to be able to install it themselves,” Stampfly said. “After that, everything sort of fell into place.”

The group came up with something similar to a puck light. ZAPPET would be battery powered and could be installed in the fridge. Three inches in diameter and thin, the UV light puck wouldn’t fill too much grocery space.

With the grand prize in hand, Stampfly said the hardest part through the whole process was agreeing on something because there were four people with different ideas.

Bringing it to Lakeshore

Whirlpool has done the Innovation Challenge with Penn High School in Indiana for five years before the Mishawaka school added it to the curriculum permanently this year. This allowed Whirlpool to bring the challenge to an area school with the capacity to do so.

“It’s so real, because they’ll do stuff like this in college,” Dutton said. “I love Whirlpool, but for me it’s mentoring the kids. Sometimes in smaller towns you don’t have the same opportunities like that in Chicago. I want them to learn all these business processes and how to work on major projects.”

Friday’s event included an 8-minute presentation for all 10 teams, which were divided into two types of groups – lower and upperclassmen.

Group members that won first place, second place and crowd favorite were given VISA gift cards, which were paid for through the Whirlpool Women’s Network.

After each presentation, students were sent out into the adjoining atrium for the idea fair. During that portion of the event, the 10 teams would make a 2- to 3-minute pitch to passing Whirlpool employees. During the idea fair, Stampfly’s group displayed a small model with a UV light shining directly into a compartment meant to represent the average refrigerator drawer.

Lynda Smith teaches biology at Lakeshore and has been heavily involved with the students throughout their involvement with the Innovation Challenge.

Amberdeep Aurora, a senior manager of product development at Whirlpool Corp., inspects a 2016 Innovation Challenge project on Friday during the idea fair portion of the challenge. (Tony Wittkowski | HP Staff)

She said the challenge was a nice fit at Lakeshore because a lot of the students are already interested in engineering. Smith was among the few from Lakeshore who attended last year’s challenge with Penn High School to get a better idea of how everything would work.

“This allows our kids to look at a problem’s solution from beginning to end,” Smith said. “These are amazing kids. They care about their education and are really curious. That curiosity really shows through.”

The other students eliminated from the challenge in November were still present Friday. Dutton said they were brought in to learn how to become better for next year’s challenge.

Also in attendance were St. Joseph school representatives. Dutton said five area schools were invited, but only St. Joseph made it. Dutton’s hopes are to include more schools in the near future to go head-to-head, rather than just against the same classmates.

“The only rule we gave them is it has to be something for the home consumer,” Dutton said. “It can’t be for a commercial restaurant or grocery store.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 17, 2016)

JR Automation in search of tax relief

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

STEVENSVILLE — JR Automation has plans for an expansion that could add up to 60 jobs in the Lincoln Township area over five years.

However, the Stevensville business is seeking tax relief and a change in its development district in order to do so.

Lincoln Township trustees voted Tuesday to set two public hearings for Jan. 10 to allow residents a chance to find out more and voice their opinions.

One hearing will be for trustees to consider amending the Industrial Development District for JR Automation by adding an adjacent parcel to the existing land.

A second public hearing will be for trustees to consider a 12-year tax abatement for the construction of the 12-year expansion on the added parcel.

The proposed 25,000-square-foot expansion is for a production facility.

Assessor John Baumann said if trustees approve the tax abatement, JR Automation would get a 50 percent reduction in taxes for all entities exempt the state education tax.

“The abatement would be for just the expansion,” Baumann said. “I believe they’re going to ask for 12 years. That’s the max that you can ask for. Normally they range between six and 12 (years).”

Baumann said JR Automation first showed interest in November, when Cornerstone Alliance approached the township with the idea.

“Cornerstone Alliance is actively involved in dozens of projects,” Cornerstone Alliance President Rob Cleveland said in an email. “Each project requires a certain level of confidentiality and procedure. Cornerstone Alliance looks forward to presenting at the public hearing on Jan. 10, 2017.”

Officials from JR Automation could not be reached for comment.

JR Automation’s plant is at 7275 Red Arrow Highway in Stevensville. The plant originally opened under the name of Dane Systems in 1990.

JR Technology Group LLC acquired Dane Systems from the Huizenga Automation Group in 2015.

Dane designed and made manufacturing equipment for aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer products, food processing, furniture, and medical and pharmaceutical industries.

JR Automation’s headquarters are in Holland, Mich., and provides “customized and highly engineered, automated manufacturing system solutions.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 16, 2016)

Beer along the Fruit Belt: Transient Artisan Ales gets the yeast it needs

Chris Betts, owner and brewer of Transient Artisan Ales, stands behind the counter Wednesday. (Tony Wittkowski | HP Staff)

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BRIDGMAN — Chris Betts originally began brewing under the name Transient Artisan Ales about three years ago in Illinois.

He would brew out of other facilities by renting space, using his own fermenters and producing his own beer.

“It was a little difficult because you would have to work around everyone else’s schedule,” he said. “For the first two years it was just me, while I was working part time at other breweries. For our purposes, it allowed us to start small.”

That small start allowed Betts to save up and buy the building at 4229 Lake Street in Bridgman in July 2015. Artisan soon opened its taproom in the first week of May 2016.

Betts started brewing in college his sophomore year with a few friends in his fraternity, before getting a few jobs at bars to learn the craft.

Like the wineries in the area, Betts was attracted to Southwest Michigan because of the area’s agriculture.

“This part of the state has an incredible fruit production,” Betts said. “It helps because we’re doing a lot of wild, spontaneous beer. I mean we make your standard IPAs and stouts, but we focus on the spontaneous beer.”

In order to make spontaneous beer, Betts puts beer out from the kettle where it is inoculated with wild yeast and bacteria. It’s then pumped back into wine barrels, where it ferments for up to three years.

It’s a type of beer that does best when there’s a good source of yeast in the area. Yeast performs well around good sources of fruit, which Southwest Michigan has an abundance of.

Transient Artisan Ales, located here at 4229 Lake St., opened its taproom in Bridgman. Transient specializes in spontaneous beer that involves the use of wine barrels. (Tony Wittkowski | HP Staff)

Transient’s had a few things to celebrate about.

It is no longer a one-man operation. Since opening at the Bridgman location, Betts now has an assistant brewer and a taproom manager.

The Bridgman brewery also won two awards at the Festival of Wooden Barrel Aged Beer.

They received a bronze for their fruited sour beer with apricot called Foeder 2. Then came the gold medal for a collaboration beer Transient did with Hailstorm, an Illinois brewery. The gold winner was called Agnitio, a farmhouse ale style beer.

“We’ve done quite a few collaborations like that since we started,” Betts said. “Brewers can be quite friendly. You normally find people you want to work with whether to have somewhat of a break or to just switch something up. Normally, it’s just a way to have fun.”

Betts said he wants the brewery to stay somewhat small and level out their production at about 1,000 barrels per year.

Transient also recently switched to its winter hours, which are now 4-8 p.m. on Wednesday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Transient is closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Those interested in learning more about the brewery and the beers available for sale can visit the store, stop at www.transientartisanales.com or email Betts at transientartisanales@gmail.com.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 10, 2016)

Fairplain Plaza gets new owners

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BENTON TOWNSHIP — Lormax Stern Development announced Wednesday it completed its purchase of the Fairplain Plaza in Benton Township.

According to a news release sent from the Bloomfield Hills company, Lomax Stern bought the 450,000-square-foot shopping center due to it being “in the heart of Benton Harbor’s trade area.”

The sale was closed Nov. 30, Lomaz Stern officials confirmed in an email. The total cost of the acquisition was not made available.

Fairplain Plaza is at the corner of M-139 and Napier Avenue with businesses that include Dunham’s Sporting Goods, Party City, PetSmart, TJ Maxx, Ulta, Target and Kohl’s.

“Fairplain is perfectly located and really is the cornerstone for this market,” Andrew Luckoff, leasing specialist at Lormax Stern, said in a news release. “We are excited to begin improvements in the plaza. … We’ll introduce fresh, new retail concepts to the greater Benton Harbor community. We plan to build Fairplain up to its full potential.”

Lormax Stern specializes in the redevelopment of shopping centers like Fairplain Plaza, the company stated.

Working closely with the surrounding area residents as well as retailers, Luckoff said, Lormax Stern works to make “long-term success and added value” for the communities they serve.

Richard Kerwin, vice president of acquisition at Lormax Stern, said the property adds to the company’s western Michigan holdings, which also includes Knapp’s Crossings and North Kent Mall in Grand Rapids and Frandor Mall in Lansing.

The closest shopping mall development Lomax Stern has to Southwest Michigan is the Minges Brook Mall in Battle Creek.

“Western Michigan is a strong growth sector for us,” said Kerwin, who led the acquisition with Lormax Stern. “We see such potential here and we’re thrilled to be part of the retail community in this region. We have been eager to get involved in Benton Harbor, and Fairplain Plaza provided the perfect opportunity for us to do so. We have exciting plans for the plaza.”

Lormax Stern has been in the shopping center development business for more than 30 years, and has developed more than 30 million square feet of retail space to date.

The company owns and manages more than 30 retail centers in Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi.

A history of transactions

Coventry Real Estate Advisors previously owned the plaza.

The New York-based firm bought the 42-acre shopping complex in 2006 from JPA Development – a company run by local business owner Jim Paul.

Paul had bought the plaza in 1997 from the Angelo family, who had established the shopping center in the late 1950s at M-139 and Napier Avenue as the first retail center in what is now the Twin Cities retail hub.

Fairplain Plaza fell into hard times in the 1970s. By the mid-’90s, it was largely vacant with several crumbling buildings.

JPA Development bought the property and began tearing down old structures. Fairplain Drive was built between M-139 and Mall Drive to connect Fairplain Plaza to the Orchards Mall and Pipestone Road shopping district.

Target, which serves as the plaza’s anchor store, opened in 1998, and several chain retailers soon followed.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 8, 2016)

Benton Township trustees say no to proposed gas station

By Tony Wittkowski | Business Reporter | The Herald-Palladium

BENTON TOWNSHIP — Efforts to build a gas station/convenience store along M-63 in Benton Township were halted once again Tuesday night.

Benton Township trustees denied Pri Mar Petroleum’s request at Tuesday’s meeting to rezone land along the corner of M-63 and Enterprise Way, which kept the company from submitting plans for a gas station.

The board’s decision comes on the heels of two recommendations to deny the rezoning request by the township and Berrien County planning commissions.

Clerk Carolyn Phillips, who serves on the township’s planning commission, gave trustees a recap of the meeting and made the motion to deny the request.

Pri Mar previously applied for a special use permit for the gas station in 2007, which was also denied.

The land, owned by Pri Mar, is zoned D-2 professional. The St. Joseph company wanted to rezone it to D-1 retail commercial, which has more options for developments.

Craig Marzke, chief operating officer of Pri Mar, said when they first applied for a special use permit in 2007, the land was zoned residential.

The proposed convenience store portion of the project would have been about 6,000 square feet, with 3,500 of it being showroom space.

After the meeting, Marzke said he was surprised there wasn’t much discussion on the topic and felt they were prepared to address any of the trustees’ concerns.

When asked what his plans are after being denied a second time in 10 years, Marzke said they’ll look at their options. He said they’ll look into submitting another request, selling the property or finding a different development project.

“The township has got to go back and rework their master plan,” Marzke said. “Right along M-63, we need retail. We’re right next to a highway so we could have a big impact. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board.”

During the township planning commission meeting in October several nearby residents were vocal during the public hearing portion. Traffic was a concern because the station would be just south of where M-63’s four lanes become two.

Pri Mar provided trustees with a traffic study, what form of security system would be used and information on noise and lighting that residents had issues with.

“We felt the products and services we want to offer are needed in that area,” said Kurt Marzke, Craig’s brother, during the meeting. “We realize that the D-2 zoning is what it is. We feel this development is a positive for everyone.”

Trustees were also given several letters voicing support and opposition to the project. The majority of opposition to the proposed gas station came from Woodridge Place and Rocky Gap residents.

In another matter, Supervisor Kevin White announced that the land at 2860 M-139 was officially bought by DeNooyer Automotive Group, a Kalamazoo-based car dealership.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at twittkowski@TheHP.com or (269) 932-0358. Follow him on Twitter: @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 7, 2016)