Larger Wal-Mart Proposed, Plan Meets Opposition

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Planning Board began the review process to turn the existing Wal-Mart, located on Route 9, Rio Grande, into a full-service Wal-Mart during the regular meeting Feb. 11. Attorney Stephen Nehmad, of Nehmad Perillo & Davis, Egg Harbor Township, who represents the Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust, presented the proposed site plans and discussed multiple variances and waivers being sought.
Wal-Mart, which opened spring of 2007, was described by Nehmad as a “thriving center. My client, Wal-Mart, is part of that center and they seek to invest in their property by building a multimillion dollar expansion of their property to the north side of the existing building,” said Nehmad.
The application proposes a 43,000-square-foot addition to the existing building. The vacant retail space, just north of Wal-Mart, would be demolished to allow for the expansion. According to Nehmad, this would result in a 10 percent increase to the existing retail center.
Opposing Nehmad and the proposed expansion was Attorney Ronald Gasiorowski, of Gasiorowski & Holobinko of Red Bank. Gasiorowski represented the owners and operators of ShopRite on Route 47, Rio Grande.
“Mr. Gasiorowski and I have been at odds before,” said Nehmad. “Mr. Gasiorowski has opposed several Wal-Mart expansions throughout the State of New Jersey where I have represented Wal-Mart.”
“Although Mr. Gasiorowski and his client claim they’re here to somehow champion what they claim to be is the public interest, we submit that they should be judged by their actions and not their words,” said Nehmad.
Because the Wal-Mart is located over a half mile from ShopRite, Nehmad said the expansion does not interfere with ShopRite’s right to use and enjoy its property.
“You won’t hear anything said by Mr. Gasiorowski or his experts to the effect that we and this development proposal, this 10 percent coverage expansion, affects their right to use and enjoy their property other than to increase business competition, which is of course not a legally protected interest in the land use field,” said Nehmad.
“Competition benefits the consumer and we submit that as particularly true whereas here that competition is for families that are struggling to afford the necessities of life, which food most certainly is,” said Nehmad.
The first expert witness called before the board was Dave Wisotsky, senior project manager at Bohler Engineering and civil engineer on the application. Wisotsky has worked on six similar re-development projects in the state.
Wisotsky said the proposed plan would increase the amount of parking spaces from 836 to 864. Also discussed was the addition of an underground stormwater management basin to be installed underneath the property. This particular phase of the project would take two to three months.
The first phase of the project would see the demolition of the existing building and the construction of the new addition. The second phase would focus on the northern portion of the parking area.
Once all the approvals are in place, Nehmad said construction would begin uninterrupted over a 12-month period.
Project Architect Perry Petrillo spoke of Wal-Mart’s green initiatives and sustainability. Daylight harvesting, which is the practice of using skylights to illuminate the store on sunny days, would remain. New advancements to be added are dehumidification, LED-lighted refrigeration units with motion sensors, and hot water reclamation.
Petrillo explained that safety is paramount, and that customers and employees would continue to have a safe environment in which to shop and work while the building was under construction.
“One of the key components, outside of life safety, is customer experience and customers are used to shopping a certain way, they expect to shop in a certain way, and like everybody else, they don’t like change,” said Petrillo. “So it’s important that how this gets phased, plays into that.”
The rules of the planning board require meetings to conclude by 11 p.m., and as the hour drew near it was decided that the hearing would continue March 11 at 7:30 p.m. At that time the board will hear from Traffic Engineer Mark Roth, Planner Creigh Rahenkamp, Gasiorowski, and anyone else wishing to speak about the application.
To contact Kirby Reed, email kreed@cmcherald.com.