Target eyes fall opening

The store will be the first phase of a four-building shopping center on a 79.76-acre site just north of Route 522.

By: Joseph Harvie
   The township could have a Target department store by late fall if construction on a Route 1 shopping center goes as planned.
   The 128,059-square-foot Target is the first phase of a four-building shopping center slated for the 79.76-acre site, just north of Route 522.
   One of the buildings could include a 20,083-square-foot Pet Smart, a 20,384-square-foot Staples and a 30,032-square-foot Best Buy, according to the application on file in the township Planning Department.
   According to the application, the shopping center also could include a 4,304-square-foot Chase Bank and a 6,000-square-foot building that would house smaller stores.
   Construction began in September with the widening of about 2,000 feet of Route 1 north in front of the site.
   Work also is under way to install a traffic light at the intersection of Route 522 and Stouts Lane as part of a developers agreement, Rich Moralle, senior vice president of T&M Associates, the engineering firm for the applicant, said Wednesday.
   Mr. Moralle said site grading and prep work is almost complete and the foundation for Target should be complete by June 1.
   Pineville Builders received sign relief from the township zoning board April 6 to allow more than one sign on each building.
   The applicant will be allowed place four signs on the building slated for Chase Bank, two more than allowed, as well as a 35-square-foot sign on the site, which is 27 square feet larger than is allowed.
   Pineville also will be allowed to place a sign on the side of the building slated for the Target, as well as small signs that say "pharmacy."
   In addition, a sign that says "Best Buy mobile installation," will be allowed on the side of the building slated for Best Buy.
   Signs that say "pack and ship," "technology," "furniture," and "copy printing" will be permitted on the front of the Staples site. The building slated for Pet Smart will be allowed to have a sign that reads "Pet Smart" on the side, and "grooming" on the front.