Fred Meyer unveils plan

PALMER -- Palmer is getting a Fred Meyer, but whether it has the look, merchandise and surrounding traffic pattern everyone wants remains to be seen.

At a town meeting at the Palmer Depot earlier this week, Fred Meyer officials announced they will begin site work this summer on property next to the Palmer post office, and by late next spring could be opening a store where the First Baptist Church of Palmer now stands.

Some at the meeting wanted to know how firm the company's plans are.

"We have opted to go with this site," said Tom Gibbons, a site acquisition manager with Fred Meyer from Portland, Ore. "We own the property."

The news came as a surprise to some of the Palmer residents and business owners at the meeting who said they didn't realize the project was on such a sure, fast track. As they perused the design sketches and traffic analysis displays, they fired questions at the store officials -- Why only a grocery store? How will Palmer's streets handle the traffic? Does it have to be a box store like every other box store in America? And is there time for any of their comments and concerns to be taken into consideration?

"There are a lot of impassioned people here, and we care about Palmer," Lynn Fuller told Gibbons. She said she felt slighted by the fact that Fred Meyer is apparently only going to offer the one public meeting.

"I don't feel there is time for us to give input in a way that is meaningful," she said. "I feel like I'll walk away and Fred Meyer will be built without any say from the community."

But Gibbons said the company is interested in incorporating Palmer's concerns into the plans. In addition to the information he and several consultants were gathering at the meeting, Gibbons was also collecting comment cards from people.

"If we weren't serious, we wouldn't even have to hold this meeting," Gibbons said. "We like working with the community."

One of the messages Gibbons said he was getting loud and clear is that Palmer would like something larger than the "marketplace" grocery store currently in the works.

"We already have a grocery store. We don't need a grocery store … Why can't you build a full Fred Meyer?" Verda Lewis, owner of downtown's Verda's Cakes and Things, asked during the meeting. "You can't even buy a pair of underwear in this city."

Gibbons said he was surprised how often he was hearing this comment, and that it was something he would take back to Fred Meyer. He said the size of the lot does restrict the store to some extent. The Palmer building is expected to be around 66,000 square feet compared to Wasilla's 175,000. Gibbons said there is room to eventually expand the Palmer Fred Meyer by another 20,000, and the larger building would allow Fred Meyer to carry a full range of merchandize, although Gibbons admitted it would still be a smaller store.

"Bulldoze down the post office if you have to. We don't care," Lewis called out, sparking a series of cheers and groans from others in the crowd.

Many of those at the meeting said they were disappointed in the box-store appearance and surrounding parking lot. A sketch of the simple building was shown in a range of tan and beige tones with names such as "snow ballet," "tomorrow's taupe" and "spice nut" -- colors some at the meeting described as dreary.

"It makes me think of spring break-up, mud and dust," Palmer resident Gerry Keeling said. "It's kind of drab actually." She said she hopes Fred Meyer adds some picturesque lighting, awnings and other elements that could soften the building's appearance.

Keeling wasn't alone. Many people told Gibbons they weren't pleased with the store's proposed look and asked if more trees, pedestrian-friendly walkways and pleasing design elements could be incorporated that would make it fit more into Palmer.

"We can do architectural treatments to do that," Gibbons said. He said the stores do not all have to look the same, and Fred Meyer is willing to work to make the building complement the city's existing structures.

Some questioned whether Fred Meyer will actually make this extra investment, however. The city of Palmer has no design or architectural ordinances on the books, and some at the meeting said they doubted the company would follow through unless they were forced to.

"Once the plan is drawn up, it's hard to change," admitted Michelle Church with Friends of Mat-Su. But she said she is hopeful that if the community puts pressure on Fred Meyer, people's concerns will be addressed.

"Fred Meyer is actually more responsive than some of the big box stores," Church said. She said she plans to work with the city to schedule more public meetings on the issue even if Fred Meyer doesn't have a representative available.

The Fred Meyer building marks another phase in Palmer's development, Church said, one that will set the stage for the city's future.

"It needs to be done right," she said.