Farmington Hills Gets a buybuy Baby

Wondering what's going on in the former Borders space at 14 Mile and Orchard Lake Roads in Farmington Hills?

According to leasing agent Ramco-Gershenson, based in Farmington Hills, buybuy Baby has signed a 10-year lease to occupy the space. In addition, longtime tenant Bed, Bath and  Beyond has signed on for another 10 years, with plans to expand.

Farmington Hills resident Sherri Gerber-Somers couldn't be happier. Her baby is due June 12, and she has already registered at the buybuy Baby in Canton. In fact, she had word the company was going to locate in Farmington Hills several weeks ago. While working on her baby registry, she commented on how far away the store was, and employees told her a Hills location was in the works.

"It'll be great to have one so close," she said. "(The store) is very organized, it is very clean and well lit. The staff are very helpful. I find everything I need there."

buybuy Baby director of public relations Bari Fagin said the stores offer "infant  and toddler merchandise in categories including furniture, car seats, strollers, feeding, bedding, bath, health and safety essentials, toys, learning and development products, clothing and a unique selection of seasonal and holiday products."

Stores stock more than 20,000 items; in addition, products are available on its website, buybuybaby.com, where customers will find 24-hour service and an on-line registry.

Moms like Gerber-Somers are why buybuy Baby located in Farmington Hills, said Mike Sullivan, senior vice president of asset management for Ramco-Gershenson.

"This is due in large part to the excellent performance of Hunters Square, based on the great demographics we have here in Farmington Hills and Oakland County," he said.

Jennifer Cherry, vice president at Farmington Hills-based marketing and public relations firm Marx Layne, said the center is located close to large subdivisions, which are filled with shoppers who sense an economic recovery is on the way. She said many foreclosed homes have been snatched up by first-time home-buyers, who are just starting their families.

"They will be looking for the products buybuy Baby and Bed, Bath and Beyond offer," Cherry said.

"Another very smart move on their part is the spacing of their stores," she said. There are just four Bed, Bath and Beyond stores and two buybuy Baby stores in a 50-mile radius. "It's a smart location."

buybuy BABY was founded in 1996 and acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2007, Fagin said. The chain now operates over 50 stores.

Sullivan said the space is being prepared for a 29,000-square-foot store. That's on the low end of the company's store sizes, which range from 28,000 to 60,000 square feet.

"Typically, these retailers have a prototype ... each has their own specs," he said. The space will be rebuilt so that buybuy Baby can start moving in as soon as it's completed, likely in October. "We definitely consider this a turn-key project."

The expansion will add 10,154 square feet, replacing the adjacent, closed Petco store, Sullivan said. The expansion to 58,619 square feet will make it one of the company's largest stores in the Midwest market.

Those two tenant signings will put Hunters Square shopping center at 94.8% occupancy, Sullivan said. "We're happy to be refilling those boxes."

Cherry said that's on the high-end of the occupancy rate for area retail centers, but she expects to see more movement in the same direction as the economy improves.

"As far as retail goes, you're seeing those numbers going up, and retailers are starting to make those investments," she said.