Chick-Fil-A In Cinnaminson Back On Track After Owners' Disputes Resolved

CINNAMINSON, NJ — A long-planned redevelopment that will bring Chick-fil-A to Cinnaminson is back underway after the site's adjoining property owners settled their differences, officials said.

Two years ago, Cinnaminson officials approved a proposal to bring a Chick-fil-A and a retail building to a relatively inactive portion of the Route 130 business corridor. But the work has faced delays — partially because of disputes with one of the site's two landowners, who has kept her properties vacant.

Those issues, however, has been resolved, allowing the project to advance, according to Township Committeeman Ryan Horner. As a result, the early stages of work at the site can begin soon, Horner said at July 15's committee meeting.

"The township is encouraged that the parties worked out their issues without quite a bit of township involvement," Horner said, "and we are looking forward to the project moving forward in the near future."

It wasn't immediately clear when or how the property owners reached an agreement. Patch contacted representatives of both owners but didn't receive responses in time for initial publication.

Plan In Place For Years

In May 2022, Cinnaminson's Planning Board approved plans to redevelop a stretch of Route 130. The site contains four houses, set to be demolished and replaced by two commercial lots. One will have a 2,656-square foot Chick-fil-A restaurant with drive-thru lanes. The other would contain a 6,800-square foot building for unspecified retail, according to the developer's approved plans.

At the time, the site (299 to 307 Route 130 S) included four adjoining properties, with two entities each owning two apiece. The developer — CFA Cinnaminson, LLC — needed to acquire both properties for the project to advance.

CFA Cinnaminson — part of Delco Development, a firm based in Willingboro — had a deal in place to acquire one of the owner's properties, according to the minutes from the 2022 Planning Board meeting.

The other half of the redevelopment site was owned by Thao Le and registered under Cove House, LLC and Seabreeze, LLC — two companies with no clear function. It contains two homes that have remained vacant and in disrepair under Le's ownership, according to the township.

Although the Planning Board approved the project, it faced obstacles. CFA Cinnaminson would need to acquire the titles to all properties on the redevelopment site, the company's attorney, Richard Hoff, said during the 2022 meeting. Reaching that milestone wasn't so easy, as legal battles revolving around Le's property's ensued.

Disputes With Owner

The township has wanted to redevelop the site for more than a decade. In 2013, Cinnaminson officials designated four lots off Route 130 as areas in need of redevelopment. The area included two century-old homes that had been vacant for at least three years prior, according to the township.

The buildings were left in significant disrepair, with neither connected to a public sewage system, township officials said at the time. The properties also had tax liens in the past, with the township claiming that the owner's taxes delinquent for most quarters between 2007-13.

In 2019, the township became aware of a developer's plan to construct a fast-food restaurant at the location. But Le, who owned the vacant properties, had different plans, according to court documents.

Over the next two years, township officials met with Le to learn about her plans for the properties. But Le never backed up claims that she had development plans for the land, the township said. When the township followed up in July 2021, Le said she was subject to a tax lien and no longer controlled the properties, according to court documents.

A few months after approving the Chick-fil-A development a year later, the township contacted the controlling entity and facilitated a sale agreement on the developer's behalf. But "at the eleventh hour," Le found the resources to regain control of the property, thwarting the sale, township officials told Patch.

As a result, the municipality filed a lawsuit to acquire the parcels via court order. Township officials contended that the properties' disrepair created a public-safety risk, pointing to numerous calls to police, along with fire and engineering officials deeming both structures unsafe.

Last September, a trial judge determined that the township could acquire the parcels through eminent domain, stating that the properties' "obsolescence was detrimental." But the state appeals court struck down the order three months later, claiming the township failed to provide sufficient evidence that the disrepair was detrimental to the community.

Richard P. DeAngelis Jr., Le's attorney, told Patch last year that they were "pleased the appellate court reversed the trial court's opinion which was contrary to settled law by the New Jersey Supreme Court."