Montclair’s Lackawanna Plaza Not Getting A ShopRite: Developer

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A tentative plan to bring a ShopRite supermarket to the vacated space that used to house the Pathmark at Montclair’s Lackawanna Plaza has derailed because the space doesn’t fit the company’s desired specifications, the project’s developers say.

During a Montclair Historic Preservation Commission meeting last week, Brian Stolar, president of Pinnacle Companies of Montclair, said that an updated plan to develop the property only allows for a 44,000-square-foot grocery store, too small and not the right shape for ShopRite, which expressed interest when the site plan allocated 65,000 square feet for a supermarket.

According to Montclair Local, Stolar said that the new site plan doesn’t have the parking for a large food store. (Read the full article here)

The plaza – located near the historic Lackawanna train station – was designated as an "Area in Need of Redevelopment" in 2015 and is bordered to the north by Glenridge Avenue, to the east by Block 4202, Lots 2 and 5, to the south by Bloomfield Avenue and to the west by Lackawanna Plaza and Greenwood Avenue.

A plan is in the works to revamp and revitalize the plaza and allow the property owners, Hampshire Real Estate Companies and the Pinnacle Companies, to build hundreds of residential units and a supermarket along Bloomfield Avenue and Grove Street.

• See related article: Montclair's Lackawanna Plan Lacks A Consensus

Local community members in the area have been vocal about the need for a supermarket in the 4th Ward to replace the now defunct Pathmark, which closed in 2015.

• See related article: Montclair's 4th Ward Is Facing 'Food Insecurity,' Needs Grocery Store
• See related article: Death Of A Supermarket: Montclair Pathmark In Lackawanna Plaza Closes

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File photo courtesy of Armando "OUTthere" Diaz (Montclair Pathmark closing, 2015)

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