Middletown Approves Wegmans, Shoppes At Middletown

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — At their meeting Wednesday night, the Middletown Planning Board approved the Shoppes at Middletown/Village 35 project, reported the Asbury Park Press. This new shopping complex will bring both a Wegmans grocery store and a dine-in movie theater, plus many other stores, to Rt. 35 at Kings Highway.

The massive shopping complex will be built at the intersection of King's Highway East and and Kanes Lane. It will include 342,000 square feet of retail space, with 30 total stores.

It still remains unknown when construction will begin, and when the Wegmans will open. The Wegmans will give serious competition to Saker Shop-Rite in Middletown, the Whole Foods in Red Bank and the Stop & Shop.

Village 35 will be built where the original Food Circus store was located, with the infamous Calico the Evil Clown sign. The store is now home to Circus Liquors.

So far, Wegmans and CMX, the eight-screen dine-in movie theater, are the two major tenants, but developer National Realty Development Corp. (NRDC) is eager to get more tenants. Circus Liquors said they will be staying there, as will the pet supply store, Pet Supplies Plus. Toll Brothers also wants to build 320 new homes, including 80 affordable housing units, behind the shopping center.

The Shoppes at Middletown is not welcome by all Middletown residents, and some residents have spent the past several years trying to prevent the complex from being built.

Residents who are opposed say it would bring more traffic and congestion to the area, and degrade the environment. They say Middletown suffers from too much development already. A group called Stop Village 35 is the most vocally against it.

Past reporting on the Shoppes at Middletown: Wegmans Is Coming To Middletown

Village 35/Shoppes At Middletown Seems To Be Moving Forward

Village 35 Project Gets Key Approval From Middletown Monday