Planning Commission approves Kroger, apartment building on 14 Mile Road

ROYAL OAK — On April 14 the Royal Oak Planning Commission had a public hearing and unanimously approved sending a proposal to the City Commission to build a Kroger at 2800 W. 14 Mile Road, and an apartment building, the North Royal Oak Flats, at the same location with 85 dwellings. 

There is no set date at this time that the proposal will be seen by the City Commission, according to Joseph Murphy, Director of Planning.

The approved proposal is to rezone 2800 W. 14 Mile Road from general industrial to a planned unit development and construct a large-scale retail establishment, Kroger, with an automobile fueling station and outdoor displays and sales. 

Along with the Kroger, the petitioners — Kroger and Symmetry Management — is asking to build a multiple-family building with four floors and 85 dwellings. Both PUD plans are on the site of the former manufacturing facility Comau Industries, which has been vacant for quite some time. The Kroger is to be roughly 103,000 square feet. 

This proposal was seen by the Planning Commission on Dec. 9, 2025, where the motion was approved, but the Planning Commission asked the petitioner to come back before it with some changes to the proposal. 

Some of the significant changes that were made to the previous proposal, according to Murphy, include a community space next to the rain garden along Coolidge Highway, a water feature in the apartment detention basin, six electric vehicle charging stations at the apartment building, swapping in more native trees, adding metal panels to the exterior of the Kroger building, and more. 

The petitioners also had traffic studies done for the site, which were conducted by Fleis & Vandenbrink. 

Dennis Cowan spoke to the commissioners representing Kroger and Symmetry Management, the petitioners for the two developments. 

“We have come up with a site plan that is not only good operationally, but also functionally and works from a traffic standpoint and a pedestrian standpoint,” Cowan said. 

Cowan continued to explain the major changes made to the site plan that were suggested by the Planning Commission. 

“We believe that we have a better project than what we started with back in July of last year, better than in December, and we think that is because of the comments we have received from you as well as your consultants,” Cowan said. 

Members of the public spoke about the project following the presentation of the proposal, and there were also emails sent to the commission from members of the community who were not in attendance. 

“I am concerned  about the lack of pedestrian connection for the proposed apartments at  the north end of the site. Other than walking to the proposed Kroger store, it will be difficult for residents of the proposed apartments to travel anywhere in the vicinity except by car,” Dave Scherger said in his email. “A pedestrian connection would provide an easier walking path to the SMART bus stops located in the Meijer parking lot, and would reduce the risk of pedestrian–vehicle accidents in the Kroger parking lot creating a safer access for apartment residents.”

In a second letter sent to the commission by Marin Yousif, the owner of Tubby’s Sub Shop at 2700 W. 14 Mile Road, he voiced his support for the apartment building but is not in support of the Kroger. 

“While both developments bring change, housing offers long-term benefits that better serve our community as a whole, residential development supports population growth in a stable and sustainable way,” he said in his letter. “It is also important to consider that this area is already well served by fuel stations. Within close proximity, there are existing fuel stations currently meeting demand, adding another does not address a need. It creates redundancy, increases traffic congestion and raises environmental and safety concerns, including increased emissions, fuel storage risks and constant vehicle turnover.”

Commissioner Sharlan Douglas said that she did not approve of the initial proposal in December. 

“I still do not feel this is what I would like to see on this marquee location as defined by our new master plan and our potential future zoning ordinance,” she said. “Nevertheless, it would be foolish of me to not vote in favor of elements that significantly improve the proposal they brought before us.”

Commission member Woody Gontina said that he also did not initially approve of the project, but he is now supporting the project following the changes. 

“For me as well, this is not my favorite project. … I appreciate the efforts that were put forth to bring this project forward,” Gontina said. “I  still think you have a lot more opportunity on this project to do some really transformational things. I think the changes that you made since the preliminary PUD conversation that we had have been very positive.”

For more information on the city of Royal Oak, visit romi.gov.