New Wal-Mart at Route 130 and Hickory Corner Road in East Windsor is slated to open next month.
By: Marisa Maldonado
EAST WINDSOR While some can’t wait to shop at the township’s newest low-cost entity, Wal-Mart, others in a nearby development say they are the ones paying the price for having the nation’s largest company as a neighbor.
As employees prepare the store for a scheduled May 4 opening, some residents of the nearby Windsor Crossing neighborhood still have concerns about how the store’s arrival could disrupt what one called a "quiet country life."
They said the light from the parking lot has crept into their homes past midnight, and landscaping does not adequately shield the 148,832-square-foot store from their sight.
The township Planning Board approved construction of the Wal-Mart last year, and work started at Route 130 and Hickory Corner Road in May. The store originally was supposed to open in January.
Company spokeswoman Rhoda Washington said the store has tried to meet all of the requests that the residents brought up last year during the planning process.
This includes turning off all outward facing lights a half hour after closing and landscaping a strip of grass between Picasso Court and the store’s east side. Also, a fence was built to keep children from running into the street.
"We have honored and respected the community’s wishes," she said, "as well as (those of) the town."
But some residents said store’s true test will come when business starts.
Don DeVito, who moved to Rembrandt Way two years ago from Queens, N.Y., said one of his main concerns is safety of the children. As he held his 7-week-old son, Donald Jr., he said he won’t be able to tell the real effect of the traffic until the store opens.
But he said Wal-Mart seems to have followed through on its promises and he hopes the store will be proactive in working with the community.
"You can’t compare Wal-Mart to Sal’s Pizzeria," Mr. DeVito said. "You expect (Wal-Mart) to be more of a team leader."
Wal-Mart agreed to donate $100,000 to the township’s open space fund last year, and Mayor Janice Mironov said the store had made its first donation of half that amount. The township will receive the other half when the Route 130 location opens, Mayor Mironov said.
The store also identified several local charities to work with, Ms. Washington said.
Mayor Mironov said she hopes the store will serve as a "major anchor" to other businesses in the Route 130 area, north of Hickory Corner Road. Wal-Mart should provide about $7 million to the township’s tax base, and should pay about $200,000 in school taxes alone.
"We’re interested in seeing a healthy mix of stores in the town that will provide conveniences for residences and encourage them to shop in East Windsor," the mayor said.
But some residents said the efforts of Wal-Mart and the township have come up short. Jerry Ji, who has lived on Picasso Court for two years with his wife and toddler son, said he has stopped paying extra on his mortgage because he does not know if he will want to stay in the area after Wal-Mart comes.
He said when he moved in, developers had told him that the area would have a strip mall, not a store such as Wal-Mart.
"We expected to live here for a long time," Mr. Ji said. "Now I don’t want to finish investing any more."
Mr. Ji and many other residents with similar concerns invested their time last year through an informal group called Concerned Citizens of Windsor Crossing, which spoke out against Wal-Mart at several Planning Board meetings.
Saumil Shah, a two-year resident of Picasso court, held meetings of the group in his basement last year, where they expressed concerns about decreasing property values because of the store.
He also said traffic that would come from the store’s Hickory Corner Road entrance was a concern, both for the neighborhood’s children and for emergency services.
"If police or ambulances are trying to come, they will not have any room to get through to the neighborhood if there is traffic," Mr. Shah said.
Mr. Shah and other residents said the store’s efforts to work with residents have come up short. Wal-Mart’s 600-foot-long, 10.5-foot high white fence on Hickory Corner road, near Picasso Court, is too short. The landscaping is not lush enough to provide an adequate buffer, he said.
Mr. Shah said he had hoped the store would model its fence and landscaping after the McCaffery’s grocery store in West Windsor, and that he hopes to work with Wal-Mart to make improvements.
The trees and landscaping, which also will include shrubs in the future, will grow to adequately provide buffering, Ms. Washington said.
Mr. Shah also said the store has not turned lights off a half-hour after closing on several occasions, and he expressed concern about the automotive center that will face Picasso Court from the side of Wal-Mart.
"Old tires are breeding places for pests," he said.
Ms. Washington said the kiosk containing the Tire & Lube center will be covered and fully insulated.
The store also will have a pharmacy, garden center, and general merchandise.
The store will create about 300 job opportunities, Ms. Washington said, and three-quarters of those will be full time. She said she expects the store to hire most of its workers from the community.
"Only in terms of management do we do some transferring (from other stores)," she said.
Some residents said despite increased traffic and light, they welcome the chance to shop there.
James Ng, a two-year resident of Picasso Court, said he would wait to judge traffic levels in the area and had no concerns about lighting. In the meantime, he was excited about the two-block trip he now will be able to make to shop at Wal-Mart.
"We always shop at Wal-Mart," Mr. Ng said. "(Now) we don’t have to go to Hamilton anymore."

