By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The owners of the Quaker Bridge Mall may find out next week whether the township Planning Board will grant its request for approval of a general development plan that will guide the proposed renovation and expansion of the mall.
The Planning Board expects to pick up where it left off last month when it began the public hearing on the application when it meets Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the lower level conference room at the Municipal Building.
Last month, the Planning Board listened to several hours of testimony from representatives of Lawrence Associates, which co-owns the mall with the investor group Lawrence Development. The board did not reach a decision at the Sept. 20 meeting, preferring to wrap up the application at next week’s special meeting.
Plans for the expansion and renovation of the Quaker Bridge Mall, which is located on a 102-acre parcel on Route 1 at Quakerbridge Road, have been in the works since 2005.
The proposal calls for expanding the mall from 1.05 million square feet of retail space to 1.6 million square feet. Parking would increase from 5,555 spaces in parking lots to 7,427 spaces in parking lots and four parking garages.
The Planning Board approved the first phase of the project in 2008, which calls for the demolition of the existing J.C. Penney department store and relocating it to the area presently occupied by the Lord & Taylor department store. A new retail store would be built on the former J.C. Penney site.
The owners of the Quaker Bridge Mall are seeking a vesting period of 20 years through the general development plan. This means the applicant would have up to 20 years to complete the project, without concern for possible zoning changes that would affect the property.
Representatives of Lawrence Associates testified at the Sept. 20 meeting that a 20-year vesting period is necessary because of the unpredictable nature of the economy. Some of the department stores that would have been interested in moving to the mall when the plan was first proposed have said they would not be able to open a new store until 2015 or 2016.
Lawrence Associates representatives also testified that once the project gets under way, it will take about six or seven years to complete the expansion and renovation project but there is no way to know when economic conditions will improve so that a starting date can be determined.
But the Planning Board hinted that it would prefer a shorter time period for the general development plan. Mayor Michael Powers, who sits on the Planning Board, suggested an eight-year approval for the general development plan.

