MANCHESTER – Residents may have more shopping space at their local ShopRite in due time. The current site could be replaced by a larger store on Route 37.
Township Business Administrator Carl Block confirmed during the latest Township Council meeting that the ownership of ShopRite of Manchester is working on moving to a larger facility.
Block said the Saker family, who owns that ShopRite, is working on a plan to build a new bigger store on Route 37 that was once considered for a Super Walmart store.
That proposed store was tied up in litigation for many years concerning an environmental issue – the presence of the northern pine snake. Block served as Ocean County’s business administrator at that time and noted that Walmart ultimately pulled its plans in 2017 for the 200,000-square-foot store. He added that the main objection to the super store was its proposed size.
According to Block, the size of the soon to be proposed ShopRite would be allowable under the regulations of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
The subject came up during the public comment period while a resident was questioning the governing body about the township’s affordable housing plan, updating its master plan and carrying a related ordinance that would repeal a prior ordinance that would ban townhomes in an area of the township.
Development concerns have been expressed by residents during recent council meetings and Block responded to her comments noting the ShopRite proposal.
That resident referenced how she tries to avoid the crowds of shoppers at that local grocery store chain and heads there at times when it is is less crowded. She expressed fear that an influx of residents from new town home developments that will be permitted if the ordinance is passed, would add more shoppers to the crowded store.
Block couldn’t provide a timeline for the relocation and building of the larger ShopRite as there are several steps to be taken for the plan to be approved. The owners are aiming to have the application finalized and submitted within the next two months.
The Manchester Times reached out to the Saker ShopRite office which is based in Holmdel for further details on the plan. They did not respond by press time.
The Saker family has been in the grocery store business for five generations with stores in New Jersey since 1947. They operate 40 supermarkets – including 39 ShopRites with ShopRite pharmacies serving residents of Monmouth, Middlesex, Mercer, Burlington, Somerset and Ocean counties for decades.
Their Ocean County ShopRite stores also include Toms River, Lacey, Waretown, Jackson, Brick, Berkeley and Stafford.
Proposals for the new Manchester based store must be submitted to not only Manchester Township’s Planning Board but to the Toms River Planning Board as well by the developer as the site borders both municipalities. The developer must also seek approval from the NJDEP.
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