Drugstore proposal back before planners

By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer

WEST LONG BRANCH — A Walgreens drugstore has been proposed — again — for a site at the southeast corner of the intersection of Routes 36 and 71, catty-corner across the highways from ShopRite in Paddock Plaza.

The application is coming back before the Planning Board minus a left-hand turn from the store’s parking lot to go south on Route 71, that had been proposed in the original plan, and which proved to be a major stumbling block.

The Planning Board rejected that earlier proposal over a year ago.

The applicant is Edgewood Properties Inc., of Piscataway, which owns four other Walgreens drug stores in Hazlet, Matawan, Toms River and Edison, according to Ron Aulenbach, director of engineering for the company.

The Hazlet Walgreens is located at Route 36 and Poole Avenue, while the Matawan Walgreens is located at Route 34 and Broad Street, he said.

The property in West Long Branch, where the latest Walgreens is proposed, has two single-family homes and a mason building standing on it, according to the application, all of which will be razed. A pink building there had been the home in the past of a women’s store known as The Pink House.

The plans for the development, drawn by Menlo Engineering Associates Inc., Highland Park, civil engineering consultants and professional planners, show a drugstore of 14,490 square feet and a Pad A of 2,475 square feet. The use proposed for the pad site was not identified in the plans, and Aulenbach said the company had no tenants for it at this time.

"It’s too early to advertise," he said. "You might not be in the ground for two years.

"Once we achieve all of our approvals, we’re anxious to get going," he added.

The site plan for the project contains two different sets of figures for its size. The "overall" site area was listed as 2.24 acres and 97,360 square feet, while the "total" site area is listed as 2.46 acres and 107,283 square feet.

Aulenbach was unable to explain the difference but speculated that the larger size might contain a right of way that’s not included in the "overall" size.

The plans envision a one-story drug store that’s 136 feet by just under 105 feet, and a "pad" building of irregular shape approximately 52 feet by 50 feet.

Only one building is permitted, according to the application.

The required frontyard setback is 150 feet, while the drugstore will have a setback of 82.7 feet from Route 36, and 74.3 feet from Route 71.

Eighty-five parking places are required, and Aulenbach said they will comply.

Aulenbach said the company will need variances for a sign that will be bigger than allowed, and to have a wider driveway off Route 36 than allowed.

The property consists of three lots. Two are owned by John and Shirley Schmitt of 101 Monmouth Road, West Long Branch. The third is owned by JSM@Monmouth Road LLC, which has the same Piscataway address as Edgewood Properties Inc., the developer of the project.

Aulenbach said JSM is one of Edgewood’s limited liability corporations.

The property lies in an IC — or industrial commercial — zone.