UPDATE: Clark Commons stores begin to open; grand opening set for August
CLARK -- The 28-acre Clark Commons shopping complex will house 27 offerings on a former Raritan Road paper plant property and is scheduled to open in early August, the site's developer told NJ Advance Media.
Whole Foods (which will include its own restaurant and pub), Home Goods and L.A. Fitness will comprise the largest spaces in the 245,000-square-foot, seven-building complex, according to developer William Krame.
Krame listed the other 24 offerings in the fully leased complex as follows: Panera Bread, Panda Express, Chipotle, Applebee's, Noodles & Company, Smashburger, Blaze Pizza, Red Mango, Dress Barn, Carter's, OshKosh, Petco, Michael's, Five Below, Modell's Sporting Goods, Party City, Sleepy's, Visionworks, Ulta, Torrid, Hallmark, Vitamin Shoppe, Verizon Wireless and PNC Bank.
Krame said although the site's grand opening is scheduled for Aug. 1, some retailers may open doors as early as June.
"I'm very proud of how quickly we were able to move on construction, and I hope people will be excited about the quality of the project," Krame said, though he noted recent weather has made progress a challenge. "We spared no expense on construction materials and included a lot of amenities. The buildings face inward to give a greater sense of community, and we worked hard to have a good complement of tenants with something for everyone."
The complex also includes hand-laid stone for the building facades, paved walkways, benches, a fountain and a gazebo, Krame said. Krame Development closed on a $55 million construction loan for the project with Provident Bank in October, he said.
"It's going to be exciting," said Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, who sent surveys to residents to ask for their opinions on what the former U.S. Gypsum plant site should become in 2012. "The project provides great tax revenue for this town and a half a million dollars each year for our school district. It was a vacant building that's going to be turned into a vibrant, first-class center."
An economic development report presented during planning board meetings on the project estimates the complex will have a completed value of $50 million and would provide $1.1 million in annual tax revenue compared with the $298,000 the paper plant previously provided Clark. Of that $1.1 million, the Clark school district would receive $571,000 and Clark Township would receive $278,000, according to the report.
Bonaccorso said he is also excited about the jobs the project will create.
The project was approved by the Clark planning board in August 2013. To address traffic at the already busy intersections near the complex, a series of roadway improvements and widenings for Raritan Road and Central Avenue are being funded by Krame Development. Traffic lights will also be synchronized to help with flow, planners for the project said. That work will likely be underway in the spring, according to Bonaccorso.
Wakefern, the parent company for ShopRite, which is located next to the complex but faces Central Avenue, filed a complaint against the Clark planning board and Krame Development last year, claiming they were not properly notified about the project, among other things.
At the time, Clark Business Administrator John Laezza called the suit "frivolous" and said it was "an attempt on ShopRite's part to delay construction on the project because it will house a competitor, Whole Foods." Laezza defended the Clark ShopRite specifically, blaming instead their corporate office. The parties settled in June of last year, Krame said.
ShopRite lost a similar fight over a shopping complex in Linden in Nov. 2013.
Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.