stores coming

Stores coming
By Drew Ciccotelli; Staff Writer
CINNAMINSON - Burlington County Coat Factory and Shop Rite will make up the majority of the space in the new retail center known as The Shoppes at Cinnaminson.Located at 195 Route 130 in Cinnaminson, the retail center has been in development since 2005 when it was purchased by Centro Properties. The new retail center - constructed on the former Cinnaminson Mall site - will consist of 330,000 square feet.

Cinnaminson's Director of Economic Development, Anthony Minniti explained that through the cooperation of Township Committee, Centro Properties, county and state grants and the Department of Transportation the project would provide residents of Cinnaminson with increased tax revenue and more quality retail shopping.

"There is clearly a need for more quality retail opportunities in the route 130 corridor that can offer multiple benefits to residents," said Minniti. "With this center we have taken a property that had been assessed at only two million and turned it into a positive ratable for the township."

According to Minniti the retail center would generate around $425,000 in taxes for the township over the first 10 years and increase annually after the tenth year until reaching its peak of $925,000 in 2033.

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"What's key with here is the tax revenue generated from the center has already been determined and we're guaranteed that taxes will increase in these increments regardless of the any future economic developments," he said. "The advantage here is that despite whether or not the center fully realizes it potential we are guaranteed this tax rate and with the market as it stands today that's a guarantee we are grateful to have."

Despite its future, the center was not without its hurdles.

"The site has traditionally failed to achieve any success and the ability to make quality retail work was a real challenge," said Minniti. "By taking the role of the Department of Transportation we also had the challenge of the changing the roadway to fit the needs of the new center. Usually a roadway improvement of this magnitude could take around seven to ten years to complete, we only had two."

Retail centers in Delran and Palmyra pose a threat to the new center in terms of size and its location along route 130. Regardless of the threat Minniti is confident that Cinnaminson's approach to retail at the former mall site will draw more people then the two existing centers.

"Cinnaminson is in competition with Palmyra and Delran which are already homes to retail centers," said Minniti. "We differ in that we were committed to developing this site as a retail only property, in that we did not want any residential areas to add further costs to the taxpayers. With the completion of this center we were able to prevail in that respect with the extraordinary effort of the township committee."

On June 5, Markeim-Chalmers, Inc. a commercial real estate and appraisal firm, announced the sale of Pep Boys Plaza, a 50,000-square foot retail shopping center situated on seven acres in Cinnaminson.

Located at the intersection of Route 130 and Church Road, the retail center is occupied by Pep Boys Automotive, Eastern Dental, Subway and Dollar Emporium. The property sold for $6,250,000.

Dismissing fears that the Pep Boys Plaza could cause further competition for the new site, Minniti was encouraged by the increased interest in commercial properties within Cinnaminson.

"What we're seeing now is an increased interest in retail in Cinnaminson due to the new center, I feel that by having a center of this size may gather a lot more interest in creating other centers. Other retails want to see an increase in retail activity and this represents another opportunity for retailers to capitalize on the existing road way improvements."