GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY HELD FOR ANN ARBOR LA-Z-BOY FURNITURE GALLERIES® STORE

Furniture World Magazine

Ground breaking ceremonies were held Aug. 27 for a new La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries store in Ann Arbor. The new La-Z-Boy "superstore" will be located on Briarwood Circle at Briarwood Mall along the I-94 expressway. The Ann Arbor location is one of three Detroit area La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores currently being built or expanded. Construction is scheduled to begin soon on another new location in Canton on Ford Road just east of I-275, and its Sterling Heights store near Lakeside Mall is now undergoing a major renovation. Once completed, there will be six La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores serving customers in the region, with other stores located in Novi, Taylor and Warren. The metro Detroit stores are operated by Paul E. Opfermann, owner and president of the company since 1975; they are part of a national group of more than 200 stores which operate under a licensee agreement with La-Z-Boy Incorporated of Monroe, Michigan. "Our new Ann Arbor site represents one of the best retail locations in this market," Opfermann says. "With its proximity to Briarwood Mall, it is a regional site which is expected to draw consumers from all of Ann Arbor and the surrounding communities." Opfermann adds that the site was chosen primarily for its mall location, as well as its visibility along the I-94 expressway, where east and west-bound travelers will easily see the new store. The building is being constructed on a vacant site between two retention ponds near the Jacobson's and Sears stores on the south side of the mall. "That's the key thing about the Ann Arbor project: it is visible from all sides of the building-including I-94-and that's very unusual," notes Lonnie Zimmerman, architect from Siegal/Tuomaala Associates in Farmington Hills, the company's architectural firm. La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries is not a total newcomer to the Ann Arbor area; about 15 years ago, the company operated a much smaller store-then called La-Z-Boy Showcase Shoppes-in a neighborhood shopping center on Washtenaw Avenue just east of US 23 Opfermann says the company has been anxious to return to Ann Arbor and has been working on acquiring a more prominent, free-standing site for some time. "After several years of off and on discussions with the city and the mall owners (Taubman Company), we were finally successful in getting all of the zoning changes and plan approvals to build a store with the necessary identity to take advantage of the strong regional exposure this site provides." Opfermann credits the Taubman Company for their planning and development expertise in helping to put the project together. The new Ann Arbor store will have a 16,000 square foot showroom, and an expansive entrance on the north side of the building with full signage facing Briarwood Mall. Both the east and south sides of the building will include display windows and an extended elevation that will also incorporate the store signage for expressway visibility. Construction on the Ann Arbor store will begin immediately, with an estimated completion in March of 1998. Construction of the new Canton store, which will include a 16,000 square foot main showroom and a 7,200 square foot regional clearance center, will be on a similar timetable. La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries is a La-Z-Boy "superstore" with four distinct and separate galleries designed to create an inviting and friendly shopping environment. The store layout includes a Family Room Gallery, a Living Room Gallery, a Leather Gallery, as well as a Chair Gallery-all of which feature fully accessorized product presentations in a wide variety of styles and fabrics. The architectural firm on the Ann Arbor La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries project is Siegal/Tuomaala Associates of Farmington Hills. Schonshek, Inc. of Wixom serves as general contractor. Other Detroit area La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores are located in Novi, Taylor, Warren and Sterling Heights.