What we know: Despite rumors running wild on social media, the old Carson’s store in the Grand River Plaza in Genoa Township isn’t going to be a Hobby Lobby. And it’s not going to be the world’s largest Panda Express.
I know this because today I talked with Symmetry Management’s Devin Crum, the property manager for the strip mall on Grand River Avenue in Genoa Township that houses Dunham’s Sporting Goods, Oceanside Seafood, Big Lots, H&R Block, and Kolt Jewelers, among others.
There are currently a handful of prospects interested in Carson’s 72,000-square-foot building, Crum said, but no one is moving into that spot yet.
“We are not sure what is going to go in there,” Crum said.
He may have a better idea in a month or so, he said, but for now, no one is slated to open in that spot.
In the meantime, Crum said that there will be some improvements made to the strip mall.
“We are going to redo the look of it,” Crum said, saying that the strip mall is in need of some “TLC” and updating. “We want to bring more life to it.”
Carson’s was sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still operated under the Carson name. The entire Bon-Ton collection of stores — including Carson’s — went into bankruptcy and then closed in 2018. Prior to Carson’s in that Grand River Plaza spot was Elder-Beerman, part of the chain founded in 1883, the last stores of which closed in 2018.
