LA Fitness, More Changes Coming To Brick Plaza

BRICK, NJ — LA Fitness will be coming to Brick Plaza, as part of development plans for the shopping center that were approved Wednesday night by the Brick Township Planning Board.

The plans approved will continue an overhaul of the shopping center that has been a focal point in the township for decades and that has changed and grown as the township has grown.

The most recent changes have included the renovation of the portion of the shopping center that faces Chambersbridge Road, with a new facade, and the installation of rain gardens at water collection points to help promote filtering of stormwater before it runs into Barnegat Bay. The former A&P Supermarket is being filled by Ulta beauty products, which has already opened, along with Michael's craft store and a Home Goods store. Michael's is expected to open in March and Home Goods has an estimate of June or July.

Now it's time to address the rest of the shopping center, which has 422,000 square feet of retail space, said Chris Cole, who represented Federal Realty Investment Trust and its developer, Metrovation, at the meeting.

John Jackson, the attorney for the project, said the $23 million plan will be a significant upgrade that will keep the shopping center "a vital, attractive piece of Brick."

LA Fitness will be going into the space where Sports Authority had been, Cole said. But the building will be reduced by 9,000 square feet to provide about 50 more parking spaces for the gym. The reduction will come from the portion of the building that faces Brick Boulevard, he said.

Also seeing a reduction in square footage under the plan is the spot at the western end of shopping center that was last occupied by The Mansion nightclub. Cole said Federal Realty did not renew the lease with the nightclub after a string of incidents and police calls to the facility led to restrictions on the club's liquor license. The liquor license has since been purchased by Federal Realty, which is holding it while it finds a new tenant for that space.

Cole said finding a new tenant has been difficult because there's insufficient parking near that spot, so the space is going to be reduced by 5,000 square feet to provide additional parking. The Mansion space, as it exists, is roughly 19,000 square feet and the former Ethan Allen showroom is 12,000 square feet.

The third portion of the plan involves creating a boardwalk-style area, with benches and tables for people to sit at, to help draw people from the Chambersbridge side of the shopping center to the Cedar Bridge Avenue side.

The archway sign at Bon Ton will be removed, and material — likely stamped concrete — will be added that gives it a look as though you're on a boardwalk. The proposal for the walkway extends to the natural areas surrounding the Cedar Branch Brook that runs through the property, and plans for a bridge over the creek are included.

Those require approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection, and the application process for the permit is underway, said Jeffrey Carr, the civil engineer on the project for Federal Realty.

The aim is to create a flow from front to back, from the pad restaurants — Red Robin, Smashburger, and Tre and Rosalita's, which are replacing Joe's Crab Shack — to the stores and the movie theater. The renovations to the front facade of the shopping center will be carried around to the back of the center, Carr said, to create a more cohesive feeling.

The plan is to bring a family-friendly restaurant into the area at the back to be near the boardwalk area. There will be no restrooms, Cole said, because exterior restrooms create security issues, adding that quick-serve restaurants like Chipotle can accommodate that need.

The boardwalk will have benches, seating, and picnic tables and lots of plants, like an outdoor courtyard area. Down the line, there could be small vendors, like the ones you see in the mall selling sunglasses or other items.

"We want to make it a nice, outdoor open area," Cole said. "We hope it becomes a place to come and hang out."

The shopping center employs a full-time cleaning person whose responsibility it is to maintain the outside areas, addressing trash or any other issues. There also is an onsite manager, Cole said. At night, there is private security that patrols the shopping center.

Because the addition of the parking spaces and the addition of the boardwalk area slightly increases the area of impervious coverage, Federal Realty has been working with the Brick Township MUA and the Barnegat Bay Partnership on ways to mitigate the stormwater. Porous asphalt, that allows the water to percolate and filter before going into the ground supply, will be used in the areas where the new parking is being added. Additional rain water gardens are in the works as well, based in part on grant funding Federal Realty has received to install them.

John Zaich of LA Fitness, which has 800 locations nationwide, said it has been in discussions with Federal Realty since May and is excited about the upcoming changes. The gym will include indoor basketball courts and a lane pool, among other amenities, Cole said.

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