Business & Tech
Former Wayne A&P Remains Vacant 2+ Years After Closing
A Korean market was slated to open at the anchor location of the Valley Ridge Shopping Center, but they defaulted on their lease.
WAYNE, NJ — The former A&P grocery store on Valley Road remains vacant more than two years after the company went bankrupt.
The Bergen County-based Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc., which owned A&P, Pathmark, Superfresh, Food Emporium and Food Basics, filed for bankruptcy in July 2015 and closed all of its stores.
The 36,000-square-foot store had been the anchor store of the Valley Ridge Shopping Center until it closed. The vacant storefront has been an eyesore ever since, with local residents wishing another grocery store would go there. Connecticut-based Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. owns the shopping center.
Find out what's happening in Waynefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Urstadt Biddle owns dozens of retail properties in New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, including the nearby 125,000-square-foot Pompton Lakes Towne Square.
Urstadt Biddle's President Willing Biddle said the company had a lease with someone to put a Korean market in the vacant spot, but the tenant defaulted on their lease and had to be evicted.
Find out what's happening in Waynefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"We are working on trying to lease the space," Biddle said.
Wayne Township Planner Linda Lutz said Urstadt Biddle has not applied for any zoning permits for the property.
Mayor Chris Vergano said he has spoken with Urstadt Biddle several times about the property.
"We have made it very clear to them that a food type business would benefit the neighborhood and the residents of the two nearby senior citizen housing complexes and encouraged them to continue looking for this type of tenant," Vergano said. "We believe that a tenant will be found for this location."
Vergano also quelled a rumor that the town will not grant Urstadt Biddle building permits, saying it is "simply not true."
"They are well aware of the process to apply for permits and how to contact the township for assistance," Vergano said.
Related: Market Opening Soon At Former Wayne A&P Site
Related: Wayne A&P Receives No Bids In Bankruptcy Auction: Report
Related: Bergen County-Based A And P Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
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