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Is an Amazon Fresh under construction in Plymouth Township? Supervisor says yes

Posted By: Hometown Life on December 7, 2022.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

It appears e-commerce giant Amazon has plans to bring Amazon Fresh, the company’s brick-and-mortar grocery shopping concept, to Plymouth Township.

Although Amazon is typically mum on company plans, Plymouth Township Supervisor Kurt Heise said building plans have gone through the township for approval.

“I am extremely excited that Amazon has chosen Plymouth Township to be the site of its future Amazon Fresh store,” Heise said in a phone interview. “I think it underscores the fact that we are a dynamic and energetic community of people who are going to welcome this new product and the technology that goes with it.”

Amazon spokesperson Jessica Martin returned a request for comment by saying Amazon does not comment on its future roadmap.

Heise said the store will be housed in the 44,000-square-foot building currently under construction at the northwest corner of Haggerty Road and Ann Arbor Road, where crews are actively working on the site.

The new store will increase Amazon’s already-large footprint in southeast Michigan, which includes a 300,000 square-foot sorting center just up the street in Plymouth Township, a delivery station in Canton, a large fulfillment center in Livonia and a logistics center in Lyon Township.

On its website, Amazon says shoppers can expect to find a wide assortment of national brands and high-quality produce, meat, and seafood at Amazon Fresh, as well as a culinary team that offers customers a range of prepared foods made fresh in the store every day. It also offers Amazon brand foods that “fit every budget.”

While the store will bring a new shopping option to the community, it also brings new technology aimed at creating a fast and convenient experience for customers. Through its Dash Cart and Just Walk Out technology, operated with computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion, shoppers can skip the checkout line – without scanning each item along the way.

Traditional checkout lanes are also available, and no memberships are required to shop at the store.

The store will be another in the growing list of developments along the Ann Arbor Road and Haggerty Road corridor, including the recently opened Henry Ford Medical Center at the southeast corner of Ann Arbor and Haggerty roads, and Plymouth Walk, a 369-unit apartment and townhouse project located at 41700 Ann Arbor Road on the site of the former Elks Lodge.

Heise said he didn’t know exactly when the store would open, but noted crews were working “incredibly hard on the exterior and would work on the inside through the winter.

“I would predict they would be ready to open in the late spring or summer of next year,” he said.  Nearby in the shopping plaza at Lady Jane’s Haircuts for Men, manager Allie Whittenburg said the project was already bringing in new business.

“Some of the guys who are working over there have come in for haircuts,” she said. “We’re all excited about it. I think it will bring more people around, and it will also give us more food options (while working).”

At Smoker’s Depot, team lead Zachary Borgsdorf said he was looking forward to visiting the new store and seeing first hand the check-out technology he’s heard so much about.

“It’s nuts to me, it’s wild,” he said. “But Jeff Bezos, that’s a pretty smart dude. He must have it all figured out.  “I think it’s going to be cool,” he added. “It’s something new, something we’ve never seen before, so I’m excited to check it out. I think it will bring a lot of new business, not just for us, but for the other businesses here, too.”

In addition to groceries, Amazon Fresh touts other conveniences, such as pickup and returns of Amazon packages, same-day grocery delivery with Prime membership and Alexa features to help customers manage their shopping lists and better navigate store aisles.

It wasn’t clear whether all services are available at all locations.  About 40 Amazon Fresh stores are currently operating in California, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Washington state and Washington D.C.