Plum Market submits site plan for new Ann Arbor store

Michigan grocery chain Plum Market is moving forward with plans for a new store in Ann Arbor.

The company submitted a rezoning request and site plan for a Plum Market store on the former Cleary University Washtenaw Campus at 3601 Plymouth Road.

Plans call to renovate the existing 20,596-square-foot structure and construct a 4,639-square-foot addition on the north side of the building. Plum Market is requesting to rezone the property from PUD to C3, commercial fringe development.

Plum Market has a purchase agreement for the 2.38-acre Plymouth Road property. Cleary University purchased the site for $2 million in 1998.

The university announced in late 2013 it would no longer conduct in-person classes at the Ann Arbor campus starting in the winter 2014 semester. Only one in-person class was taught on campus in fall 2013. The property was listed for sale at just under $3 million.

Plum Market President Matt Jonna said the Plum Market store on Plymouth Road would have a Zingerman’s coffee bar, an outdoor seating area and a cozy feel. Plum Market plans to spend about $12.5 million in acquiring the real estate, building the store and making site improvements.

“We couldn’t be more excited to hopefully get it all approved and get open,” Jonna said during a citizen participation meeting for the project in September.

Based in Farmington Hills, Plum Market operates three locations in Michigan, including a store on North Maple Road in Ann Arbor, and one store in Illinois. In April, the grocer was selected among hundreds of applicants to open a new eatery inside the McNamara Terminal of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Plum Market carries natural, organic, local and specialty grocery items. The Ann Arbor store has a Zingerman’s Coffee Bar, Swirlberry frozen yogurt, a chocolate shop, a prepared foods section, an apothecary, a produce department, grocery items and beer and wine.

Jonna said if approved, the new store on Plymouth Road will have a similar look to the store on North Maple Road, but it will be 10,000 square feet smaller in size.

Parking on the property would be reduced from 99 spaces to 82 spaces. Ten covered bicycle parking spaces are included in the plans.

The outdoor cafe is proposed along the Plymouth Road side of the building. There is a 40-foot buffer between the building and the sidewalk curb.

Access to the site would remain from a shared easement off Plymouth Road.

The new store would be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The coffee bar would open at 6 a.m. The store would employ 125 people.