GREENFIELD — Greenfield will have space to house five new businesses this year with the opening of a 14,000-square-foot retail plaza, officials said.
Pride Investment Partners, a Hancock County-based real estate development firm, currently is looking for shops and eateries to fill the storefronts of a strip mall the company plans to open in the summer.
Construction on the site — located at the corner of Melody Lane and East Muskegon Drive in Greenfield, south of Walmart and north of Tractor Supply Co. — is expected to begin in the spring.
Dennis Spegal, a member of Pride’s development team, said so far, no companies have formally committed to the project; but Spegal said two prospects have expressed interest — one sit-down restaurant and one fast-food restaurant, which he hopes would anchor the new retail center.
The structure, in the 1700 block of Melody Lane, will have space for five total businesses, Spegal said.
Though a formal site plan has not been completed, Spegal said the sit-down restaurant likely will have the biggest footprint in the new shopping center.
Many of the restaurants Spegal has been in contact have said they’ll need at least 4,000 square feet to conduct business; that would leave about 1,700 square feet for each of the other four retailers, he said.
Pride Investment Partners has owned the property since August, when its leaders partnered with a holding company to turn the former Lee and Ryan Consulting building — located south of the proposed new retail center, into a Planet Fitness.
A vacant lot next door caught the company’s attention, and leaders moved forward with plans to develop the area even more, Spegal said.
Spegal hopes to have five businesses in line and ready to move in by the time they break ground on the new center in May. The retail center should be open for business by August, he said.
Now, company leaders are working with city of Greenfield officials to finalize site plans while seeking lessees for the property. City planner Joanie Fitzwater said the development won’t need to go before city officials for approval, but developers will have to apply for a building permit.
She’s seen drawings for the project and said she’s eager to see the undeveloped plot of land become restaurants or retail space.
Word of the new center has residents buzzing about what retail options might become available in the coming months, particularly what restaurants might be opening their doors soon.
Michele Silvey of Greenfield said she often drives into Indianapolis looking for more diverse restaurant options. She thinks some of the bigger chain retailers and eateries haven’t quite caught up with how quickly Greenfield is growing, and she wishes some of the storefronts she can find near malls in Indianapolis would open closer to home.
“People want to be able to congregate, eat and shop,” she said, “and without a local mall, alternative casual dining and shopping must fill that void.”
Samm Quinn contributed to this report.