If state gives OK, store developers also would improve intersection
SOMERS POINT — City officials went shopping for improvements and picked up a huge order of infrastructure upgrades at the planned ALDI Food Market last week.
The Planning Board on April 19 unanimously approved an application to build the market at the junction of Route 9 and Groveland Avenue, an area plagued by narrow streets, heavy traffic and recurrent flooding.
The developer, Provco Somers Point LLC, now awaits other approvals but has met every city requirement to build the 21,659-square-foot market at the site of the Walgreens pharmacy.
The project has been in the works for more than a year. Attorney Stephen Nehmad, representing Provco, said when they approached the city with a plan for the market, they were “told in no uncertain terms” that traffic and stormwater management would have to be addressed for any redevelopment plan to be considered.
City Council agreed July 21, 2022, to adopt the West Groveland Redevelopment Plan, an agreement that granted concessions to the developer in exchange for major site improvements, including dedicated left-turn lanes, new traffic signals and crosswalks and an extensive drainage system to alleviate flooding. Council members voted to adopt that plan Jan. 26.
The Sentinel requested a copy of the redevelopment agreement on Jan. 27 through the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), but has not received it.
On April 19, Nehmad detailed the project to the Planning Board, whose approval was needed for it to move forward. No variances were required and the project was tailored to meet the parameters set forth in the agreement, so there was no controversy.
“This application not only has private benefits — my client will hopefully be able to build an ALDI supermarket to redevelop the site — but also public benefits because there are two very convincing concerns at this intersection — stormwater management and traffic,” Nehmad told the board. “This application not only comports with all aspects of the redevelopment plan but goes over and above what is required for a standard site plan application.”
He said because of the makeup of the intersection, the property would have to accept stormwater from neighboring lots. There would be three zones to help resolve the flooding — two basins and an underground system.
Josh Sewald, of Dynamic Engineering, said the drainage report must show what the state mandates in terms of reducing runoff. He said regulations require developers to reduce runoff from a two-year storm by 50 percent and the system would cut it by 82 percent, reduction for a 10-year storm must be 25 percent and it would provide 61 percent, and for a 100-year storm, 20 percent is required and 39 percent would be provided.
“We are significantly over-designing the system to accommodate some of that additional flow,” Sewald said. “Two large-scale systems on site and an underground one will be able to handle some of the excess flow out there for a major improvement.”
Regarding traffic flow and safety, Sewald said the intersection would be completely reconstructed and fully modernized with push-button signals and crosswalks.
More importantly, he said, the dedicated left-turn lanes would allow traffic to flow rather than backing up and even blocking the box.
Traffic engineer Andrew Jafolla said there would be a crosswalk on both sides of Groveland Avenue and one on the north side of Route 9.
“This is a very positive improvement to the intersection,” he said.
Another change planned is a two-way left-turn lane on Route 9. Jafolla said there currently is no left-turn lane into Galloway Auto & Tire and that since the driveways are offset, the single lane would be beneficial to both businesses.
Board member David Sharp called the intersection a “death trap right now” for pedestrians, asking why there would be only one crosswalk on Route 9.
Jafolla said there are no sidewalks on the south side so the intent is to encourage people to cross on the north side.
Sewald said the existing building is about 10,000 square feet with a drive-thru and has 49 parking spaces. The new building would be 19,209 square feet with an option for a 2,450-square-foot expansion and 98 parking spaces. There would be 10 to 15 employees at a time.
All approvals are based on the larger size.
Sewald said the new building would be farther back on the site, with parking to the east. It would have two front facades, facing Route 9 and Groveland, and extensive landscaping featuring at least 130 evergreen shrubs.
A wooded buffer between the developed part of the site and the neighboring homes to the west would remain and the developer would add trees to supplement it.
Nehmad said Provco met with neighbors in November and some said they would like a fence at the western property line. He said his client is willing to build one or not, noting some expressed concerns that doing so would require removing trees.
At least one neighbor did not want a fence but others do. Nehmad agreed to work with neighbors and the city engineer to satisfy their requests.
Nehmad said the use would be less intense for Aldi than it was for Walgreens, noting the store would have just one or two deliveries per day. He also said that even though the store would be larger, the lot coverage would be only 57 percent where 75 percent is allowed.
Jafolla said the project should take two to three months to complete, but noted a lot could be done without shutting the road down.
“Utility work can be done prior to the work and that’s the main issue, once you get to the civil work — the paving and the widening — all that work’s going to be done outside of peak hours,” he said, adding actual widening and paving would interrupt traffic only for a short time.
Nothing can begin until approvals are received from the state agencies but the redevelopment agreement terminates March 31, 2024.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff