With all the uncertainty and unknowns surrounding the future of the site of the former Acme food store in the Windsor Plaza on Princeton-Hightstown Road and the lack of movement on the Rite Aid site, the Township Council is looking to set up a meeting between the mayor, a council representative, and the Dreher Group, the Nassau Street-based development company that already owns the Rite Aid site and has been under contract to purchase the Acme center.
Council members discussed their concern over the esthetic appearance of the vacant buildings on the site of the future Rite Aid property and the now-empty Acme building during the July 20 council meeting.
Back in May, council sent a letter to the developer saying it wanted the vacant buildings on the site of the future Rite Aid at the corner of Route 571 and Cranbury Road to be torn down and the eyesore of the property lining the gateway into the township to be dealt with as soon as possible.
Despite cleanup work on the property at the time, Councilman Charles Morgan said he wanted Dreher to tear down the building on site and that if it cannot be done soon, the township should work out a deal in which the township will take care of the demolition, but be reimbursed by the developer. Thus, the letter asks for demolition within a certain time limit. If there is no ground broken by the end of 2009 on the site, the council stated it wants the buildings to be demolished. The Dreher Group already has received Planning Board approval to construct the Rite Aid. The site plan calls for a 14,673 square foot Rite Aid, and an additional 6,000 feet of retail space that could include a coffee shop and a restaurant.
But in addition to the standstill at the Rite Aid site, Richard Dreher — the president of the Dreher Group — has remained tightlipped on his plans for the Acme site, and on whether or not the deal his group has been trying to work out with the family who currently owns the Acme site has even been worked out. The store closed in May, and Dreher has reportedly been under contract to purchase the entire shopping center from the Courtney family, the original owners of the center. Family member Doug McDowell of San Francisco also has not commented on the deal.
Furthermore, Dreher has also not addressed a rumor at this point: that his company is looking to bring a high-end Kings market to the center.
Neither Interim Business Administrator Robert Hary nor the council has been able to get answers from Dreher. Morgan said he felt that the governing body should be proactively trying to seek the answers and getting work to begin on the properties, both of which fall within the 350-acre Princeton Junction redevelopment area. He said that although the township’s hands appear to be tied at this point, “it’s something I would put at the top of my list.”
“It really does look bad at this point,” said Councilwoman Diane Ciccone, who had initiated the discussion.
Council President George Borek said that he has heard many people ask what will be happening with either of the sites, and said that he will ask Hary to find out whether or not the deal for Acme went through and if there has been any movement. Hary, however, immediately reported that the administration also has not been able to obtain any new information, despite having reached out to them a few times. “In the meantime, the township’s doing its best to keep it clean,” he said, even saying that the township had taken the owners to municipal court because weeds were growing on the site.
Borek also asked whether or not the issue regarding the nearly 20 cars that are parked in the empty Rite Aid parking lot during the week, purportedly while their owners have taken the train to work, has been addressed. Hary told him the matter has been referred to the township police department.
“It seems to me we should sit down with Dreher and say, ‘What can we do to facilitate closure there, and what can we do to facilitate knocking those buildings down?’ We ought to be proactive,” said Morgan. He also urged Borek to have a council representative at that meeting. “Having a representative there will maximize the likelihood of getting something concrete.”
Borek said he would set up a meeting with the mayor and administration to determine how to reach out to the Dreher Group and find a timeframe with regard to what they plan to do with the property.
Other business. In other business during the July 20 meeting, the council approved the following reappointments: Myra Swanson as advisor of the Affordable Housing Committee through June 30, 2010; Ted Begun to the Site Plan Review Advisory Board through June 30, 2012; Chih-mei “Amy” Huang Hsiao to the Cable TV Advisory Board, through June 30, 2012; Lisa C. Carter to the Cable TV Advisory Board, through June 30, 2012; and John Rosko to the Shade Tree Commission, through June 30, 2014.
The council also introduced a $4.8 million bond ordinance to provide for various capital improvements, including pedestrian, road, and park improvements and DPW vehicles. A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, August 3.
