Ground May Break for Super Stop & Shop This Year

Developer White Hickory Associates is expected to submit a final proposal for a new Super Stop & Shop this week.

The grocery store will be located on White Plains Road (Route 119) around Benedict Avenue, adjacent to the current Sheraton Hotel.

The proposed 67,500-square-foot store will also be accompanied by 22,500 feet of retail building space and 50,000 square-feet of office building space, also to be planned by White Hickory Associates.

"We're looking at building and site plans right now," said Thomas Madden, Commissioner  of the Department of Community Development and Conservation.

White Hickory Associated initially petitioned the Town of Greenburgh in 2007 for an amendment to Section 285-25A(4) of the Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Greenburgh making "fully enclosed stores for the retail sale of consumer merchandise, banks and fully enclosed restaurant use" a special permit use subject to the jurisdiction of the Town Board in the Office Building District of the town.

This change allowed for the building of the Super Stop & Shop at 600 White Plains Road, when the existing approved site plan for the location allowed for two office buildings containing a total of 334,000 square feet.

In November of 2009, the Village of Tarrytown, Town of Greenburgh, Stop & Shop Supermarket Company and Tarrytown Shopping Center Limited Liability, which represents the Bridge Plaza Shopping Center, reached an agreement on the matter.

Tarrytown officials raised concerns regarding the current Stop & Shop, located on S. Broadway, with an additional entrance on Route 119. Stop & Shop is currently the largest storefront in the Bridge Plaza Shopping Center, and moving its location may affect the viability of the entire center.

According to the agreement, Stop & Shop has a lease on the current Bridge Plaza supermarket building that expires in 2031. Tarrytown indicated in the agreement if the Bridge Plaza Stop & Shop closes, they would like to have some sort of grocery outlet replace it, similar to the Harvest Field Market in the Village of Mamaroneck.

The agreement reads: "...the Village seeks to assure convenient and reasonable food/grocery, fresh produce and prescription drug store retail outlets for the residents of Tarrytown, including senior citizens."

In addition, the developer has agreed to help improve Bridge Plaza's current condition by refurbishing the curbing, adding fencing where needed, maintaining the landscaping, repaving the parking lot, repairing the current store's facade and more.

In terms of the proposed Super Stop & Shop, previous concerns regarding the developer's proposal included high volume traffic in the area, especially at the intersection of Benedict Avenue and White Plains Road, and the lack of sidewalks in the neighborhood for local residents to walk to the grocery store.

"We've sat down with the New York State Department of Transportation and a traffic consultant," said Madden. "We've come along with solutions for mitigation along [Benedict Avenue & Route 119], including adjusting the lights in the future."

Further, White Hickory Associates agreed to provide around $200,000 to Greenburgh for dual purposes: to help build sidewalks in the currently somewhat pedestrian-unfriendly area, as well as funds for the town's recreation department to make over the neighborhood.

Madden added previous zoning issues have been resolved and the developer is still seeking a wetlands/waterlands permit from the town. This is because the property has a drainage channel that is open to the air for approximately 30 feet. Under Greenburgh Town Code, this is considered a watercourse and would require a permit from the Planning  Board for work in the 100 foot buffer area.

Once the proposal is handed over Greenburgh's Town Board to review, and then referred to the town Planning Board for comment.

If all goes smoothly in Greenburgh, and no serious changes are needed in the proposal, ground may break by the end of this year.

According to Madden, the entire construction process is estimated to take between eight and nine months total; so the new Super Stop & Shop may be open for business in late 2011.

Editor's note: The original posting of this article incorrectly stated the square-footage of the building, misrepresented the 'marsh habitat' in the area, and did not have Thomas Madden's correct title. Those changes have since been corrected and we regret the errors.