Developer hopes to start construction June 1
By: Lea Kahn
The revitalization of the southern end of Lawrence Township got a boost last week, as township planners granted preliminary site plan approval for a proposed ShopRite grocery store on the Brunswick Traffic Circle.
The Planning Board April 13 approved the plans for the 80,400-square-foot grocery store, plus two smaller adjoining stores of 7,000 square feet and 2,600 square feet, respectively. The stores will be built on a 9.6-acre tract bordered by the Brunswick Circle Extension, Princeton Avenue and Lawrence Road.
A vacant grocery store and a house now on the site will be torn down. A strip shopping center and bowling alley formerly on the site were demolished several years ago.
Brunswick Circle Associates owns the property. It will lease the 80,400-square-foot grocery store space to Big V Supermarkets of Florida, N.Y., which operates a string of ShopRite grocery stores. Tenants for the two smaller stores have not been found.
“It is refreshing that Lawrence has a mayor who believes that redevelopment is as important as development,” said Philip Vinch, a principal in Brunswick Circle Associates.
Through the efforts of Mayor Greg Puliti and former Mayor Pat Colavita, Mr. Vinch said he and his partners have added $7 million in new ratables to the southern end of the township in the last couple of years. This includes the ShopRite grocery and the CVS drugstore located on Brunswick Pike at Cherry Tree Lane.
Township officials have expressed concern over the deterioration of the southern end of Lawrence Township. A mile-long stretch of Brunswick Pike, between the Brunswick Traffic Circle and an area north of Whitehead Road, recently was designated as the Brunswick Pike South Redevelopment Area by township officials in November. A formal plan for redeveloping the area is in the works.
Brunswick Circle Associates must return to the Planning Board for final site plan approval before construction can begin. Once that approval is obtained, construction on the new grocery store could start as early as June 1, Mr. Vinch said.
Although ShopRite will occupy the largest store, the tenants of the two smaller stores have not been identified, said attorney David Gordon, who represents Brunswick Circle Associates. It is possible that Big V Supermarkets may open a liquor store in one of the stores if a liquor license is available, he said.
The ShopRite grocery store will employ about 200 people, both full time and part time, but there will be no more than 50 employees working at the store at one time, said architect Roy Rosenbaum. The store will close at 11 p.m., in compliance with township ordinances.
Access to the ShopRite grocery store will be provided from all three streets. The Lawrence Road and Brunswick Circle Extension entrances will be limited to right-hand turns into the site and right-hand turns out of the site. The Princeton Avenue driveway will allow left-hand and right-hand turns into and out of the shopping center.
The plan shows parking for 384 cars, although the township Land Use Ordinance requires 462 parking spaces. There will be 16 spaces set aside for physically handicapped drivers.
Delivery trucks will unload inside the store, said Mr. Rosenbaum, the architect. There will be no noise from the unloading process. Use of the trash compactor, which does make noise, will be limited. The lights in the parking lot will be extinguished one hour after the store closes.
Traffic engineer Arnold Garonzik told the Planning Board he designed the site so delivery trucks will be forced to enter the shopping center off Lawrence Road/Route 206 and drive directly to the loading docks. The trucks will not compete with motorists and pedestrians in the front of the shopping center, he said.
Although township officials suggested installing pedestrian crosswalks on Brunswick Circle Extension and Princeton Avenue, state and county transportation officials nixed the idea for safety and liability reasons, said Mr. Garonzik and civil engineer Charles Walton, who also represents the applicant.
But Planning Board traffic consultant Charles Carmalt said the pedestrian crosswalk on Princeton Avenue is a good idea. The residents of Project Freedom’s rental apartments, slated to be built across the street off Betts Avenue, likely will walk across the street to do their grocery shopping, he said.
Mr. Carmalt said motorists have used the former Shop ‘N Bag site as a short-cut between Princeton Avenue and Lawrence Road. He suggested installing traffic calming devices in the parking lot.
Mr. Gordon, the applicant’s attorney, said he would contact the Lawrence Township Police Department about that issue. It is a violation to cross private property, and the department should be notified, he said.