A seaside city long known as a food desert will soon be getting a proper supermarket and construction on the project is anticipated to begin by the end of the year.
During their September 21 meeting, the Board of Directors of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) approved an application that will bring a ShopRite facility to 1801 Baltic Avenue. Per our reporting from August, a four-acre parking lot situated between Ohio and Indiana avenues will be transformed into a 44,000-square-foot market surrounded by 227 parking spaces.
The market’s design was drawn up by Rutherford-based DeBarbieri Architects, who previously worked on ShopRite stores in Newark and Stroudsburg, Pa. The market’s entrance will be situated along Ohio Avenue, while the store’s loading docks are set to face Indiana Avenue.
The ShopRite project will reportedly cost over $18 million and the store’s parent company, Village Supermarkets LLC, will lease the eventual building from the CRDA under the deal. During the same meeting, the CRDA approved a $175,000 contract for professional services related to the development of the supermarket.
A memorandum of understanding was signed for the proposed ShopRite back in May and the CRDA granted minor variances to the development application related to maximum impervious lot coverage, signage requirements, landscaping, fencing, and permission to display outdoor merchandise. Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small says the project is aiming to break ground in October.
The approvals and potential groundbreaking are welcome news for many residents of Atlantic City, as the city of 37,000 lacks a true supermarket. The only large grocery option for locals without having to visit a neighboring town is Save-A-Lot, a discount store that currently operates along Atlantic Avenue.
