Interior buildout of a pair of Amazon Fresh grocery stores is expected to begin soon, according to bid documents obtained by Crain’s.

The documents, which are invitations to subcontractors to bid on the work, say the long-dormant stores in Troy and Shelby Township are anticipated to open around Oct. 1.

This marks the first sign of life locally for Amazon Fresh, which started building out no fewer than 10 locations in metro Detroit in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic but has yet to open a single location here.

Staff with Troy-based general contractor C.E. Gleeson Constructors Inc. confirmed the authenticity of the documents, which were posted to Construct Connect, a website for contractors around the country to bid on jobs.

Amazon Fresh, through a spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the opening dates. 

“We’ll continue to open new Whole Foods Market stores, and will do so selectively with Amazon Fresh as we see results we like,” the company said in a statement to Crain’s.

The Troy store is at 662 E. Big Beaver Rd. in the Troy Marketplace shopping center in a former indoor trampoline park location that closed during the pandemic. The Shelby Township location is a former Gander Mountain store at 13975 Hall Rd. in the Hall Road Crossing shopping center. 

Work on both locations is expected to begin March 24.  

The Troy location is 39,500 square feet, while the Shelby Township one is 35,500, according to the bid documents.

Amazon Fresh — the Seattle-based e-commerce behemoth’s attempt to infiltrate the budget grocery store space, competing with the likes of Walmart and Aldi — has so far been not a bang but a whimper in terms of its rollout in Southeast Michigan.

Two of the 10 anticipated Amazon Fresh locations were put up for sublease in 2023, and one of those — the Madison Heights store — is being filled up with another tenant, an Asian grocery store, Crain’s reported in November. The Dearborn location also was put up for sublease. 

A source familiar with the matter said interior buildout on the Plymouth Township location is expected to begin soon, as well.

Other locations are in Rochester Hills, Livonia, St. Clair Shores, Grand Blanc and Roseville.