Store opens downtown: Hegg's furniture first in old mall development

July 17, 2007
By Dave Alexander
Chronicle Business Editor

The first new major retailer to locate in downtown Muskegon in decades and the first new business on the former Muskegon Mall site opened the doors of the historic Century Club building Monday morning.

Hegg's Gallery, 356 W. Western, opened a business with three levels of upscale home furnishings. Billing itself as "a new century of fine home furnishings," the Hart-based retailer's second location is the first new business in the "city center" development on the former mall site.

"We are trying to appeal to a design-oriented customer in the mid- to higher-end range," said Stacie Hegg, owner and general manager of the Muskegon store. Hegg's offers furniture and accessories for all rooms of the home.

Construction began in early spring to convert the old Century Club into the Hegg's outlet. Hegg's and the building's owner had hoped to have the conversion work done by Summer Celebration but missed the festival by two weeks. Hegg's will be open this weekend for the new downtown Muskegon Bike Time festival.

Along with the old Muskegon Savings Bank and the Daniel's Office Supply buildings, developers Gary Post and Russ Strong are renovating the city's Russell Block along West Western Avenue. West Western has been the historic downtown shopping district, but three key blocks were covered in the mid-1970s to create Muskegon Mall.

The mall remained the community's top shopping location until the retail developments at Sternberg Road and U.S. 31 in the mid-1990s. The mall closed in 2001 and was eventually demolished to make way for redeveloping downtown Muskegon by a consortium of community organizations, Downtown Muskegon Development Corp.

Besides the three buildings in the Russell Block, two bank buildings remain along West Western Avenue and are being eyed for redevelopment, DMDC officials say. Of all of the buildings, the Century Club built in Romanesque-style in 1889 is the most historically and architecturally significant.

Hegg's is a three-generation family business in Oceana County that was purchased by Stacie and Scott Hegg in 1998. The business took an upscale, fine furniture direction under their ownership. The Hegg family began the business in 1946.

The redevelopment of the Hart Hegg's has brought customers from all over West Michigan to Oceana County. The new location is expected to serve customers in the Muskegon and Grand Haven markets, Hegg said.

Hegg's in Muskegon is opening with eight employees and will begin with Monday through Saturday hours from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday. The store is closed Sundays, but Hegg said hours will be flexible as downtown events and festivals dictate.

Opening with the new Bike Time motorcycle event downtown will be interesting, she said.

"I don't know how that will play out because it is a new experience for Muskegon, but we're excited for the weekend and being open," Hegg said.