The West Windsor Zoning Board on Thursday, October 4, will continue hearing an application for a new Rite Aid Pharmacy and shopping center at the corner of Route 571 and Cranbury Road.##M:[more]##
The Dreher Group of Princeton presented a plan on September 6 to the board for a 14,”673 square foot Rite Aid, and an additional 6,”000 square feet of retail space that could include a Starbucks coffee shop and an Italian restaurant. The applicant is scheduled to finish its the presentation on October 4, and the board is expected to begin its deliberations.
According to officials, the plan reflects a request by the township to make sure the project is consistent with West Windsor’s plans for the redevelopment of the downtown Princeton Junction area.
The plan calls for the new buildings, with a maximum height of 35 feet, to be constructed with a minimum setback from Princeton-Hightstown Road. The structures would have a brick facade, to match the new PNC Bank built last year on the opposing corner of the intersection.
Officials have called the intersection a key location because it acts as the gateway to downtown Princeton Junction area.
Under Dreher’s plan, the Starbucks retail center would be located at the corner of the property near the corner of Princeton-Hightstown and Cranbury roads, reflecting a request by township planners. Previous plans proposed for the site located the pharmacy at the corner.
Rite Aid purchased the two properties in 2005 — the service station site from Al and Patti Swingle, and the shopping center from Al and Jackie Macli. Bristle Brothers paint is the only remaining business in the center. Three other store fronts are vacant.
The corner has been no stranger to proposals for development in recent years. In 2002 the zoning board rejected a plan by Commerce Bank to develop the Swingle site, finding that the project was inconsistent with the township’s plans for the area.
In late 2003 and early 2004, Eckerd Drug presented a plan to the zoning board that called for a 13,”800-square-foot pharmacy at the corner, and the renovation of the Macli center. The application was eventually dropped due to a change in corporate ownership.
