Planning commission approves expanded convenience store, alcohol sales and transparency waivers at 2411 Burton St. SE

The Grand Rapids City Planning Commission on Jan. 23 approved a special land use and site plan for Eli’s Breton Village (applicant Eli Abdu) to rebuild an existing convenience store and continue the sale of beer and wine for off‑site consumption at 2411 Burton Street Southeast.

The commission’s resolution approved alcohol sales in the new building, authorized reduced exterior transparency on the north and east elevations, and attached conditions requiring adherence to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards, a visible cash‑register window, and limits on the amount of alcohol display shown on the submitted floor plan.

Why it matters: The property sits at the northeast corner of Bridal Road and Burton Street in a commercial corridor the city’s 2024 community master plan designates a community activity center. The applicant is demolishing an existing roughly 900–920 square‑foot store and replacing it with a larger convenience store (applicant testimony described the new store as about 2,310 square feet). The commission’s decision allows the expanded operation to include three warm display shelves and five cooler shelves for alcoholic beverages and keeps store hours limited to 6 a.m.–11 p.m.

Planning staff presented the application and said the site already has rights to package alcohol after a prior planning commission approval on Jan. 11, 2024. Staff noted the north and east elevations do not meet the MCNC zone district transparency requirement but said the planning commission may grant departures when operational or security needs justify them. Staff also reported the city police department recorded one service call at the site in 2024 and that the city’s CPTED specialist and the police department reviewed the proposed camera locations and found the plan satisfactory.

Attorney Jonathan Durell, representing Eli’s Mobile, and site designer Brad Potter described the redevelopment as an integrated design with a new car wash proposed to the north and shared circulation between the two properties. Durell told commissioners the east elevation houses a walk‑in cooler and dry storage, while portions of the north elevation will be used for dry storage and a service exit; he said adding windows there would not look into the operational storage areas and could reduce staff safety by exposing the cash office to outside view. Durell said the walk‑in cooler will be used primarily for stocking and that only about five of roughly 10 cooler doors will be used to display alcohol.

Several commissioners expressed general support for the redevelopment, landscaping and shared site design; a few also said they were disappointed the applicant did not undertake fresh neighborhood outreach for the current application even though outreach occurred prior to the 2024 approval. Commissioners noted the applicant had earlier invited neighborhood associations to open houses in which no neighbors attended, and staff confirmed several written letters of opposition to alcohol sales had been received. The public hearing drew no speakers.

The planning commission’s resolution concluded the use is consistent with the master plan and zoning ordinance, that the transparency reductions would not overly burden public services given CPTED measures, and that alcohol sales are expected to be ancillary to overall convenience store sales. Conditions in the resolution include operating according to the submitted plan and testimony, requiring building and other permits prior to construction, limiting the alcohol display area to the submitted plan (3 warm display shelves and 5 cooler shelves), approving north and east elevation transparency as proposed, and allowing the parapet to exceed the building height by up to 4 feet.

Votes at a glance: The motion to approve carried by voice vote; the transcript records the motion, a second and a roll call of “aye”s, and does not record a numeric tally.