Wayne State University Strategic Retail Development Plan

Wayne State University, located in the Midtown Detroit, desires to expand its residential base and enhance campus life by creating a 24/7 environment. Initiatives include a new dormitory, partnering with developers on new off-campus mixed use developments, promoting activities, infrastructure improvements and the creation of a technology center where research can be transferred to commercial applications.

Retail, entertainment and cultural venues are important components of a vibrant urban community. University leadership believes that implementing these opportunities will be more expeditious and predictable through planned strategic development. The university commissioned a Strategic Retail Development Plan that would understand market conditions, address student, facility and community needs and was aligned with WSU master planning.

To accomplish its goals, the University hired Bieri Company to provide the following services:

Analyze existing retail services and projected needs
Create a business plan identifying and prioritizing nodes for retail development
Assess the re-use potential and preferred use scenario for the Student Center
Prepare a merchandising plan for a new student dormitory

This Strategic Planning effort involved two phases with Phase I of the initiative focusing on campus-wide retail issues while Phase II dealt with the retail components associated with the redevelopment of the Student Center and the new student dormitory. In an effort to involve the campus community, a Steering Committee was established and six focus groups were conducted. A series of workshops with the Steering Committee focused on specific project tasks and allowed the committee to provide feedback and guidance.

The following are some of the highlights associated with this engagement:

Identification of Retail Nodes -Demographic and area influences were analyzed and recommendations made to where retail nodes (development zones) would most likely succeed and have the greatest impact on the campus.

Market Assessment and Evaluation - Comparable urban campuses and their student centers were visited and benchmarked, area competition was inventoried and evaluated, campus focus groups were conducted and demographic and spending patterns examined.

Retail Opportunities - A site analysis was prepared, identifying the potential for over 400,000 square feet of supportable retail development with recommendations for prioritizing and phasing (short-term, mid-range and longer range opportunities) of these specific development sites.

Facility / Site Assessment –A comprehensive assessment of the Student Center was accomplished. Programming objectives and the center’s physical and market restraints were reviewed. Two market-appropriate redevelopment scenarios were prepared that incorporated the findings and insights gained from the campus benchmarking and focus group efforts and a preferred scenario was eventually selected.

Value-based Design Workshop - This workshop incorporated use and revenue factors associated with the preferred redevelopment scenario and modeled costs of various re-use schemes. Costs and benefits were assessed and findings shared with the Steering Committee.

Implementation - A Merchandise Plan was prepared establishing a hierarchy of uses. Recommendations were offered regarding the implementation of a strategic retail development plan and associated critical next steps.