Politics & Government

Planning Board Approves Lakeside Plaza With Retro Fitness

The project will be constructed in phases, starting with the fitness center

The township Planning Board approved an application for Lakeside Plaza, which includes Retro Fitness and six other stores, unanimously Monday night.

The application, which was brought to the board in 2004 and 2006, originally was approved to construct a shopping center at Route 9 and Lakeside Drive behind the Applebee’s and Hudson City Savings Bank. This time, the applicant presented a plan with increased square footage.

“In a nutshell, everything is essentially the same with the exception of some parking in the back,” William Viola, the applicant’s civil engineer, said.

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The applicant is proposing to construct and maintain approximately 81,705 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The applicant sought variances for signage and a design waiver for parking.

The preliminary plans for the shopping center included a retail shopping center, an unnamed anchor building containing 5,8735 square feet and six retail stores for a total of 69,984 square feet. It also included 25,000 square feet for pad sites for a bank and restaurant.

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Currently, as approved, the proposed shopping center will have Retro Fitness, three restaurants and three retail stores. The project would be built in phases, starting with the Retro Fitness and restaurants.

Much of the infrastructure was developed along with the Applebee’s and Hudson City Savings Bank, including the curbing, access, landscaping and stormwater basins. The main parking and building still need to be constructed.

The applicant anticipates constructing the plaza once granted a CAFRA permit and approvals from the Lacey Municipal Utilities Authority and Ocean County Utilities Authority. It would take six to nine months to build the first phase of the project.

Parking reduced

Parking was decreased from 492 spaces to 436. According to the township ordinance, there must be 4.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet, which would require 433 spaces, Traffic Engineer Dave Schropscire said.

Originally, the Planning Board was basing the center’s parking on 481 spaces, which included what was required of Applebee’s and the pad with the bank, he said.

The Institute of Transportation Engineers found that there should be 3.9 spaces per 1,000 square feet, he said. The site plans for the Lakeside Plaza has 4.53 spaces per 1,000 square feet and based on traffic studies at peak hours, the plaza will have “ample” parking.

“I sure hope there’s enough parking,” resident Regina Discenza said. “I just hope this place doesn’t become Grand Central Station at one point. I know that the developer would love that but if people go in there and can’t find a parking space, that’s going to be a problem.”

Providing sufficient parking is in the owner of the building’s best interest, Committeeman Gary Quinn said. Otherwise, the tenants would lose customers.

Board Attorney Joseph Coronato explained that to keep sites environmentally green, the Department of Environmental Protection is suggesting more practical parking for the every day shopper. In the past, developers designed sites for holidays and peak shopping days. 

Coronato added that the shopping center would be a mixed use so the storefronts will be operating and utilized at different times of the day.

Retro Fitness, for example, would operate from 4 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. The remaining tenants are unknown.

The Retro Fitness, at its busiest between 5 and 7 p.m. on a Monday and Tuesday, expects approximately 60 check-ins an hour.

The gym will feature fitness and cardio equipment with personalized televisions as well as a room for classes on demand.

Classes on demand will provide customers with group fitness that they have control over, franchisee Robert Madison previously said. The room would have a kiosk and a customer can choose from over 300 classes. Retro only expects 10 to 12 customers to use the room at a time.

The application was approved pending the following conditions: the construction is based on the first unit even though the project will be done in phases, the installation of a black picket fence along the curb line, a new fence in conformance with codes regarding stormwater pools, relocate the utility room to behind Retro Fitness, relocate the sanitary sewer main from underneath the building and subject to outside agency approvals.


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