Plan for Rite Aid, Starbucks advances in West Windsor

WEST WINDSOR — A developer hoping to replace the dilapidated gas station at the corner of Route 571 and Cranbury Road with a retail center featuring a Rite Aid pharmacy and Starbucks has made a final

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
   The Dreher Group of Princeton’s presentation on Sept. 6 showed a 14,673 square foot Rite Aid, and an additional 6,000 square feet of retail space that could be occupied by the coffee giant, an Italian restaurant, and another store, township officials said.
   The plans reflected attention to the requests of the township to make the development consistent with overall planning for development in the Route 571 corridor. Township officials said this is important because the corridor is a central focus of the West Windsor redevelopment discussion.
   ”We have to make sure that anything we build will eventually fit into the redevelopment concept and create a Main Street on Route 571, so I have been very supportive of this project,” said Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. “The focus on development in this area will continue to be a Main Street tied to the future of redevelopment.”
   The proposed buildings will be constructed relatively close to Princeton-Hightstown Road, at a height of fewer than 35 feet, and will be made of brick with the goal of consistency with the façade of a PNC Bank development across the street.
   The short setback from the busy county road arises from another key component of the Main Street concept: most of the parking will be in the rear of the retail area, out of view from motorists and pedestrians on Princeton-Hightstown Road.
   Only the shops themselves, along with the seating areas for the public and the landscaping, will be visible.
   All of these features are intended to make the development consistent with the Main Street, downtown look that township planners hope will replace what they see as an out-of-date patchwork of businesses. The new establishments would also be replacing an eyesore, in the form of an unused Getty gas station, and some half-empty retail space, known as the Macli center, both of which would be demolished to make way for the project.
   Township officials said they were pleased with the development, and the way it would recycle some property in the township’s center by keeping established West Windsor businesses like the Rite Aid from the Windsor Plaza shopping center.
   ”We are always looking to retain the businesses that we already have,” said Township Landscape Architect Daniel Dobrimolsky. “These businesses will really be an asset to the community, continuing to provide the local services this part of town is meant to provide.”
   The developers of the site told township officials they have already had discussions with Starbucks about relocating their small Acme grocery store operation to the new space, with the coffee chain occupying the retail space right on the corner of Princeton-Hightstown Road and Cranbury Road, according to Mr. Dobrimolsky.
   This Starbucks location also happens to be a very important retail space in the township, because township planners have labeled it a “landmark building”, which means a structure of special interest that looks typical of many American downtown areas.
   The former Getty station has been in disuse for some years, but this is the first development proposal for the site to come before the township that had the appropriate variance requests, which made it attractive to the township, township officials said.
   The township has already seen proposals for both a Commerce Bank and an Eckerd Pharmacy for the site, but both proposals were nixed because of their requirements for larger variance requests.
   The applicant’s willingness to switch the location of the retail portion of the development and the pharmacy was also an important factor in the application.
   The first concept plans had the pharmacy on the corner instead of the coffee shop, but last week’s presentation showed the Starbucks location on the corner, as requested by township officials.