In Our Opinion

It’s unfortunate that two prominent and respected business owners have filed a lawsuit to delay the Aldi development.

The owners of Polish Village Café and Polonia are alleging the city failed to give proper notice of a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing a few months ago in regard to the development. The two restaurants are right next door to the proposed development and both owners have complained vigorously that it will hurt their business.

They also allege in the lawsuit that one member of the ZBA should not have voted because he is a contract employee with the city, which violates state law.

The city has countered saying proper notice was indeed sent and that even if the vote of the ZBA member in question is disqualified, the ZBA had voted unanimously in favor of the project.   

In other words, the ZBA gave it overwhelming support with or without that single vote.

The developer, Michael Curis, is rightly angered by the lawsuit and the opposition to the project. The development plan calls for the demolition of the former Shopper’s World building and the construction of a four-story structure.

The new building will be anchored by an Aldi’s food market on the ground floor and about 50 senior apartments on the top three floors.

How anyone can think this project is bad for the city is mindboggling. If the Aldi development is canceled, the Shopper’s World site will likely never be redeveloped.

In these tough economic times there isn’t another developer waiting out there to step in.

The project is a win-win for everyone – especially Polish Village Café and Polonia. It’s a concern they don’t recognize that having more people living and shopping in the city translates into more business for everyone – again, especially these two fine restaurants.

We respect these two businesses, but this lawsuit is just plain bad business.

Both businesses say they fear that a loss of parking in the city parking lot they share will destroy their business. As it stands right now, that city parking lot is hardly ever used.

There’s a saying in economic development that having a parking problem is a good thing. What folks mean by that is, not having enough parking spaces means you have a bustling town filled with residents and consumers.

Hamtramck desperately needs to have a parking problem.

But even with the Aldi project here, there still won’t be a parking problem because that city lot can absorb the extra residents and shoppers and still have plenty of room leftover for the restaurants. 

On top of that, there is still plenty of parking on the streets. And here’s another thought to ponder: When Shopper’s World was open, did anyone complain about a parking problem?

It would be a tragedy if we lose this development over some misunderstandings. While we sympathize with the concerns of these two restaurants, they should be assured they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by this project.