Rite Aid gets zoning nod in West Windsor

Project seen as conforming to station area redevelopment plan

By: Molly Petrilla
   WEST WINDSOR — The Zoning Board of Adjustment gave a unanimous nod to Rite Aid officials Thursday night for construction of two new buildings in a portion of the 350-acre area in need of redevelopment.
   Just eight days before the zoning board’s meeting, the Planning Board approved a draft ordinance that sets parameters for the area Rite Aid officials had their eye on, referred to as the Princeton Junction Overlay District.
   The "overlay" consists of retail and business space along Route 571 just east of the train station, which township officials refer to as a "key site" in the township’s pending 350-acre redevelopment project. A final version of the ordinance was scheduled to be introduced by the Township Council on Monday night.
   Rite Aid officials had been looking to move the building from its space in the Acme shopping center on Route 571 and appeared before the zoning board at its Jan. 4 meeting, at which time board members suggested several changes to the plan.
   The company’s revised plans call for construction of a 6,000-square-foot building housing several stores on the corner of Route 571 and Cranbury Road and a 14,600-square-foot Rite Aid building to be built behind it. As proposed, the smaller building would house a restaurant, a flooring business and a Starbucks.
   Edwin Schmierer, the zoning board attorney, said Rite Aid "did an excellent job in listening to the concerns of the board and followed the draft overlay ordinance almost to the letter.
   He added, "Rite Aid officials came up with this dramatic and positive plan which fit right into the way we think that area will redevelop over the next five years. I think the applicant was pleased, and I know the board was pleased."
   Officials from Rite Aid must now appear before the Site Plan Review Advisory Board to work through the details of their site plan, including its parking, landscaping and driveways.
   Once SPRAB officials have had their say, the plan will come back to the zoning board for a final site plan approval.
   Those two steps will probably take about six months, according to Mr. Schmierer.
   "They’re a very responsive group," Mr. Schmierer said of the Rite Aid representatives. "They really wanted to work with the town on this transition area. I wasn’t surprised that this ended up fine — they were very cooperative and they did their homework."
   He also said Thursday’s meeting "ended on a very positive note. The facilities are handsome and I think they will be a nice anchor for entry to the town center."