At the August 22, 2017 Town Council meeting, representatives from the New Jersey Department of Transportation were in attendance and gave a presentation on traffic issues on Route 73, from the intersection of Route 70 to Sunbird Drive (just past Target). The NJ DOT will be returning to give a presentation of their 'Preliminary Preferred Alternative' on Monday June 4th at 6pm at the Municipal Building. I don't think there is a formal presentation to be given, as the release from the DOT says to 'Come at a time that is convenient for you'. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions. At the August 2017 meeting, they stressed that construction was probably 5 years away. Changes would include:
- Widening 73 to 3 lanes in each direction
- Removal of the left turn lane and light on Northbound Route 73 at Evesham Road
- Removal of the left turn lane on Southboard Route 73 at Commonwealth Drive
- "Conversion of the Marlton Parkway and Sagemore Drive signalized intersection to a single lane modern roundabout."
As I speculated in last month's blog, the Raymour & Flanigan Outlet that will be moving in to the old Borders Shopping Center will only be taking up the right side of the plaza, from the old Club Metro through JoAnn's Fabric. This will be an R&F Outlet Store - their current location in Voorhees a few miles away will be unaffected. The Jay Roberts Jeweler, Kumon and Brite Eyes will remain on site. I think the map below incorrectly shows the Tranquility Salon logo, which moved out of the center months ago. The rest of the plaza is currently available for lease.
Demolition of the insides of the center has begun.
Renaissance Square
Construction has begun again on the site. Now that the end of the building (the former Superfresh) will be a child care center rather than a drive thru restaurant, some reconfiguration is being done. They recently cut holes into the building to add windows. Here is a photo from May 11, 2018:
Progress is also being made on the building that will house the drive-thru Dunkin' Donuts. Below, to the left of the pickup truck are parking spaces. The pickup is parked in the drive lane that goes around the building.
And the rows of cinder blocks in the photo below are the beginnings of the future home of Evesham Mortgage.
Galleria
The Galleria shopping center has been upgraded and refaced. Some stores have moved around within the complex. Kroungold's Furniture, which had been all the way to the right
has now moved towards the left. There are currently 3 vacancies in the center.
The space marked 'Available - 5,477 SF' currently houses Burlington Carpet One though (at least according to the above diagram) they will be moving to the back right corner of the center.
Sculpt 360 at Allison Shopping Center
I spoke with Stephanie Alice from Sculpt360 and she advised that they are looking to open their new fitness studio sometime before the end of June. You can find more details about the studio in my prior blog post about them.
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| Sculpt360 as of 6/1/2018 |
The Max Challenge at Marlton Crossing
I spoke with Victoria from Max Challenge and they are expecting a June 23rd Grand Opening, with the first day of classes being scheduled for June 25th.
(As an aside, I must admit that with all the new restaurants and fitness studios opening, I am getting mixed messages.)
Royal Farms Updates
I recently wrote about Royal Farms attempting to build two locations in Marlton. Their location next to the movie theater was recently approved at the Planning Board. I heard back from Firstrust Bank, whose Marlton location currently sits where Royal Farms plans to build. As their building is slated to be demolished, Firstrust confirmed their Marlton location is indeed moving. They stressed it is moving, not closing. They plan to reopen somewhere local, but do not have a location or move date at this time. As this branch is the only branch in NJ, I hope they reopen somewhere nearby to keep their NJ customers happy.
As for the other potential location, the plan that NJ Department of Transportation will be presenting to ease traffic on Route 73 does NOT include was a left turn lane at Sunbird Drive on Route 73 North, which Royal Farms had been pushing for. I do not know whether Royal Farms still plans to pursue building a 2nd Marlton location at the old Scaturro's building.
Meetinghouse Square Refacing and New Florist
The Meetinghouse Square shopping center is being refaced. About 40% of the signage has been removed and some parking spaces blocked off during the construction. All stores remain open. The refacing includes the detached PNC Bank as well. Marcello's has a 'Under New Management' banner up. I think they had that up a couple of months ago, and it is back again. Not sure if it is new management again.
The florist that will be taking over the old Budget Printing location is moving along nicely.
Update 6/2/2018 - This was NOT there yesterday when I took pictures, but we now know the name of the florist - Millennium Florist
Tobacco Mart
I wasn't sure whether the new Tobacco Mart would be a vape shop or a cigarette store, or some combination thereof. Peering inside the windows, I can see that they will be selling (among other things) rolling papers and houkahs. (Houkah may be a very old school word for these - not sure what they are called now).
The hours of the store are now posted on the front window, but no Grand Opening date has been announced.
Sprouts at Marlton Crossing
The firm that owns Marlton Crossing has finally updated the map of the shopping center, and it turns out I have guessed the wrong location for Sprouts. In my March 30, 2018 blog, I put in the map below, adding the blue lines. I had assumed that the new Sprouts would be in 3A and everything from 2D to the left of the right-most blue line - from the street, Sprouts would be to the left of Burlington. And I had been inside Burlington Coat Factory recently and there is definitely a new wall on the right-most blue line, which I included in that March 30 blog post.
The property owner's website now shows this, however, with Sprouts being to the right of Burlington Coat Factory:
That would explain why 3A (the old Sears Appliance store) is still listed as available. I spoke with an employee from Burlington and they advised that the new wall on the left side of the store is a temporary wall. They are remodeling behind the wall and then will remove it.
There is another new wall they are building on the right side of the store marking where Sprouts will be. As of now, that wall only goes one third of the length of the store.
Miscellaneous Odds & Ends
Target got a new sign as part of their remodel. Old Sign:
New Target Sign
The Exxon on the corner of Route 70 and Conestoga is now Speedy Gas.
Prior blog posts