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Politics & Government

McDonald's Reps Meet Some Resistance at Work Session

Basic layouts and plans for a new McDonald's on Detroit Avenue were met with some criticisms from the board who felt the initial design of the property didn't meet the urban setting of the corridor.

During last night’s work session at , the Architectural Board of Review was certainly direct when it came to their criticisms of a McDonald’s that could soon replace the shuttered  

Since the burger corporation is still in the process of designing a non-prototypical rendering that would align with the Detroit corridor, board members instead were given basic design layouts, which offered insights on how the property would be developed. 

However, McDonald's has not yet bought the property.

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With roughly 30 parking spots and fences to the south and west sides, the restaurant would be nestled on the northeast corner of the property along Woodward Avenue, McDonald’s rep Dave Gnatowski said during the proposal. 

Vehicles would enter from Detroit Avenue and could exit from two different points onto Woodward, he added. 

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Upon hearing that, board chairman Jeffery Foster asked, “The exit at Woodward, I drive that exit a lot, it’s very difficult to turn left (on Detroit) as it is. Have you guys evaluated the traffic count there about how someone is to exit and potentially turn onto Detroit? Have you really addressed that?” 

Representative Mike Lewis answered and said the design would allow for a consistent exit rate. 

Unconvinced by the response, board member John Waddell walked to the overhead slide and remarked, “This is my biggest concern … you’re going to have a log jam in your drive-thru. That needs to be looked at in a real intense, serious way.” 

Board member Carl Orban spoke up saying the layout was arranged improperly and that the restaurant should abut the sidewalk along Detroit to accommodate pedestrians. 

“We need to think pedestrian first, that’s a huge issue for all of us here, and that seems like to be the secondary thing. All we’re talking about is vehicles and yet this is a pedestrian area,” he said. 

Board member Michael Molinski backed Orban’s comments and referred to the layout as a “conundrum,” and said it was fit for a suburban neighborhood not an urban one. 

As the meeting wound down, Foster addressed what the theatre contributes, as a structure, to the neighborhood and what the McDonald’s plan, so far, does not. 

“The volume of that building when you drive down Detroit it maintains the urban presence for quite a ways around, and that’s what kind of gives us some heartburn is losing that volume that’s there. 

“… As a board, we see what’s disappearing and we see what could be coming back, and it gives us some heartburn and you just need to understand that.” 

Architect and Lakewood resident Jim Larsen amicably assured the city officials that the mock-ups were only preliminary and that he and his colleagues would work with the board to create the desired aesthetic to match the urban setting of the neighborhood.

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