Big Kohl’s could open in October

By: Dick Brinster
   EAST WINDSOR — Planning Board approval has paved the way for construction to begin in about three months on a commercial center anchored by a large Kohl’s department store expected to open next fall.
   The board gave approval Monday night to an application by Hickory Corner Associates LLC. That group plans to build a retail center at a 17-acre site on property bordered by Routes 130 and 33, Hickory Corner Road and Bear Brook.
   "It would be my hope that we would start construction in early to mid-February," HCA spokesman Tom Orban said. "Of course that would depend on the weather."
   Such a schedule would enable Kohl’s to open by next October. Two sources familiar with the project have said that’s the target date for the retailing giant to begin operations, although a company spokeswoman has said Kohl’s does not comment on ongoing projects.
   Mayor Janice Mironov has estimated the store will bring 200 jobs to the township.
   The approval is for the infrastructure of the complex and the 105,744-square-foot store, which would be largest of three retail facilities planned for the site. Hickory Corner Associates also wants to lay pads for a bank and restaurant totaling nearly 7,000 square feet, but has not acquired tenants for those facilities and would have to file separate applications.
   HCA still must submit revamped plans in keeping with changes it previously agreed to make for items such as additional benches, landscaping and sign modifications. That’s expected to be done when the board meets Dec. 18, Mayor Mironov said. State Department of Transportation and township approval for a deceleration lane on Route 130 and access to the center from all three roads also must be finalized.
   HCA attorney Arthur Sypek said the applicant has agreed to changes the board requested earlier this month when the hearing was continued. The mayor said only routine approvals of environmental plans by the state and financial obligations remain.
   "Once they have those in hand, they would have to prepare a developer’s agreement with the mayor and council that would provide for performance guarantees and other items related to pre-construction," she said. "And they have submit to the township Building Department their construction plan."
   Kohl’s architect Steven Olson said the company had no problem incorporating changes in the façade, particularly to the entrance to the building, and other areas as previously requested by the board and the township professionals.
   "We’ve changed the façade that faces Route 130 and also appropriated some landscaping on that elevation," he said. "We also brought in some other element that were on the other two sides of the building so that we could unify the design."
   He said they also provided screening for a loading dock as part of the plan to make the facility more aesthetically pleasing. Also added to the plan is soft music he said would be subtly piped out of the building at the entrance.
   Part of the approval allows Kohl’s to erect a store 43 feet high, 3 feet above the township limit. The facility would be one of the few two-story structures the company has built.
   The store would be the latest retail addition to the southern portion of Route 130, the main business corridor in the township. Wal-Mart opened a store there a year ago, and Home Depot is located across Route 33 from the Kohl’s site.
   The store would bring the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based chain’s total to 814 retail outlets in 45 states, with 33 in New Jersey. Kohl’s, which began retailing out of one store in 1962, already has Mercer County locations in Hamilton and Princeton.