Petzold Enterprises announced that Old Navy is the latest retailer to sign a multi-year lease with the newly renovated Warren Tech Plaza in Warren, Michigan, bringing total occupancy at the center to about 90 percent.
Old Navy joins other recent retail additions Marshals, DSW, Carters/OshKosh, Five Below and Ulta, along with Wal-Mart. Before Petzold acquired the plaza in 2014, it was in a significant state of disrepair and nearly completely vacant.
Located across from General Motors Tech Center at the intersection of Van Dyke and 12 Mile Road, Tech Plaza originally opened in 1960. That same year, Sen. John F. Kennedy delivered a campaign speech from the location just 13 days prior to winning the U.S. presidential election. The Plaza would become a significant retail center for the area for decades before it fell on hard times during the mid-2000s.
The now 311,000-square-foot Tech Plaza has undergone modernization to make it more walkable, cohesive and relevant to today’s shopper. Improvements include an L-shape design for improved site lines; widened and covered canopied sidewalks; upscale finishes; and other improvements designed to make it easier for customers to cross-shop plaza multiple stores.
Design upgrades also pay homage to the center’s heritage, including brand new sign boldly identifying Tech Plaza as it did nearly 60 years ago. It is estimated the restored Tech Plaza has brought an additional 500 jobs to Warren.
