A proposed retail building near the intersection of Route 33 and Whitehorse Hamilton Square Road in Hamilton Township bears similarities to a brick-and-mortar Amazon store, but exactly what could come to this property in suburban Mercer County remains uncertain.
Documents released in advance of the Hamilton Township Planning Board’s meeting on Thursday, March 11, illustrate plans for a development called “Project Mendel – Hamilton” involving a 40,000-square-foot retail building around 1170 Route 33.
Exterior renderings of “Project Mendel – Hamilton” from McGillin Architecture Inc. are reminiscent of the Amazon Fresh grocery store that opened in September in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. However, the renderings and site plans do not include a proposed name of the store in Hamilton Township and instead feature the word “retail” on the building’s facade.
The application was submitted by Mercer Property III, LLC of Willingboro Township and signed by Thomas Juliano.
“Right now we are going in for a generic approval of retail,” Juliano, who is also the president of Delco Development, LLC, wrote in response to questions from Jersey Digs. “It is so hard in today’s environment with retail. We are hoping the entitlements and the area will spike some interest.”
A January 19 letter from Jeffrey Richter of ACT Engineers noted in part that “the project site has an area of 6.36 acres and currently contains a commercial building which will be removed as part of the applicant’s project.”
News outlets across the country such as the Washington Business Journal and the St. Paul Pioneer Press have associated terms such as “Project Mendel” and “Mendel’s Grocery” with projects that possibly involve Amazon Fresh stores. Meanwhile, the Amazon Fresh location in the Southern California suburb of Irvine takes up 40,000 square feet, according to Supermarket News.
“Amazon doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation,” company spokesperson Laura Hayes told Jersey Digs in an email.
In Passaic County, an Amazon Fresh store is expected to open where Fairway Market previously operated in Woodland Park. Amazon already maintains a significant presence in Mercer County through its warehouse operations in Robbinsville Township, but the company’s only retail store in the county is the Whole Foods Market location in West Windsor Township.
The Hamilton Township Planning Board’s meeting on Thursday is scheduled to begin over Zoom at 6:00 p.m.
Note to readers: The dates that applications are scheduled to be discussed by the Hamilton Township Planning Board are subject to change.
