ShopRite To Go On Redeveloped Wayne Hills Mall Site

WAYNE, N.J. — A new ShopRite supermarket will take up most of a new 100,000-square-foot building on the Wayne Hills Mall site as part of sweeping redevelopment plan for the aging property.

Mayor Chris Vergano spoke about that and other redevelopment plans in town Monday night at a special meeting hosted by the Wayne Rotary Club.

Vergano said the ShopRite on Hamburg Turnpike would close and the new store open with a model similar to the ShopRite in Wallington, which is designed to resemble a Whole Foods Market.

The Planning Board approved a redevelopment plan for the 29-acre site in February 2016. The plan includes knocking down the mall's main building, but not the Burlington Coat Factory store, and building stand-alone retail spaces similar to redeveloped Wayne Towne Center.

Stop & Shop filed a lawsuit against the township and ShopRite regarding the plan, Vergano said. Stop & Shop filed another lawsuit against ShopRite's Mahwah-based parent company, Inserra Supermarkets, regarding the construction of a 62,000-square-foot store in Wyckoff. Although Wyckoff officials approved in the plan in 2013, the matter was tied up in court for years, with on-site work finally commencing in late 2016. Vergano said he expects the case to be heard in May.

Cindy Carrasquilla, a spokesperson from Shop & Shop, said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

A representative from Inserra Supermarkets did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The outside of the Wayne Hills Mall — Patch file photo