Group Studies Local Retail Needs

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Cornerstone Alliance is looking at all options to help Benton Township replace the Target store in the Fairplain Plaza, which closed earlier this year. To that end, they’ve hired an organization called The Retail Coach to study the market. The company’s Will Kline talked about the work with 98.3 The Coast.

“Is it one tenant who goes in and fills it at 100,000 square feet, or do we…mention this vacancy to a developer and say, ‘Hey, is this something you’d be willing to split to two 50,000 or a couple of 30,000 square foot spaces,” Kline said.

Kline says they’ll look at what businesses have saturated the market in the area and what needs are still existing.

“We’re there not to drive an existing business out by any means, but to find complementary retailers,” Kline said.

Kline says they’re looking beyond just the populations of Benton Township, Benton Harbor and St. Joseph and taking a regional look at what businesses would fit best with a potential customer base of at least 150,000 people.