With mild winter weather providing excellent working conditions for the renovation of Windsor Plaza on Princeton-Hightstown Road, construction is on track to be completed by the end of June. In an interview on March 22, Irv Cyzner, president of Cyzner Properties, said that construction has moved far ahead as the back end of the property had to be redesigned to accommodate future businesses. Cyzner said no new lease deals have yet been finalized, and his company is consistently taking inquiries from prospective tenants.
When the project is completed the storefronts in the back will be fully visible from Alexander Road as a result of clearing trees and changing the parking lot configuration around the building. A tower is being integrated into the design, as are some finishing touches on walkways and the exterior facade. The glass doors of each storefront are a unique feature: they can be opened to allow businesses to set up plants outside and have an open, fresh-air layout.
Cyzner confirmed that Mark Harris’s Liberty Martial Arts (WW-P News, November 18, 2011) will relocate to a larger space at the back of Windsor Plaza by June or early July. A dog grooming salon is also likely to be announced as a new business located at the back of Windsor Plaza.
Calls have also come in to Century 21 real estate from a dentist with three office locations in the area who is looking to set up a fourth.
On March 22 Councilwoman Linda Geevers spoke with Cyzner, briefly discussing the bus route that used to run along Princeton-Hightstown Road. Geevers also asked Cyzner whether a bakery might be a potential tenant at the shopping center, as aside from supermarkets’ bakery sections there isn’t a bakery shop centrally located in the township. Cyzner replied that there were a few inquiries, including one from an Italian specialty bakery, but no lease agreements are imminent.
“The problem is that a bakery needs to buy fixtures to do the work. Today it costs more than a million dollars to do that, and we have a lot of people trying to find the money and get financing in order,” Cyzner said.
Other food establishments are set on Cyzner Properties’ radar. His team is actively trying to find a produce market to lease space on the left side of the complex. So far discussions have taken place with a Korean green grocer who is interested in having a food store with a high-end butcher shop as well as an Italian food specialty market.
A yogurt shop may also be among the first tenants announced.
#b#Burger Business: No Five Guys#/b#
The potential tenant who was trying to bring a Five Guys burgers and fries establishment to Windsor Plaza was unable to secure financing from a bank.
“The economy, of course, is still a big problem. The merchants and small business people are basically frozen out of lending money,” Cyzner said.
Rachel Cyzner, daughter of Irv Cyzner, named Jake’s Wayback Burger, a midmarket hamburger and hot dog chain restaurant also known for its milkshakes, as a possible tenant.
Jake’s Wayback Burger was started 21 years ago in Newark, Delaware, as Jake’s Hamburgers and has many locations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Long Island, NY. Along with Windsor Plaza Jake’s will make its first foray into New Jersey with locations in Westampton and Little Ferry. The West Windsor location will be considered its Princeton franchise, according to the company’s website.
Jake’s might aim at offering competition to the Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace restaurant planned for MarketFair this year. On Jake’s website the company describes its products in comparison to large fast-food chains and “celebrity chefs who got in on the act, selling overpriced burgers for $20 at their upper-crust burger boutiques.”
