Immersive Game Room Pitched In Cherry Hill At Site Of Shuttered Pharmacy

CHERRY HILL, NJ — An international, immersive-gaming company wants to open a facility in Cherry Hill.

Activate describes itself as "the world's first active gaming facility." Similar to an escape room, participants jump, climb and collaborate with interactive technology in different game rooms.

There are about 40 locations around the world, primarily in the United States and Canada. The proposed location in Cherry Hill would be Activate's first in South Jersey.

Cherry Hill's Planning Board is set to hear Activate's pitch on March 17.

If approved, Activate would be located at the site of the former Rite Aid on Route 38 and Chapel Avenue.

The 14,673-square-foot building's footprint would undergo minimal changes. However, Activate plans to replace the loading area with six additional parking spots, according to planning documents.

The property also requires Planning Board approval for any non-pharmacy use — a condition developed when local officials approved the Rite Aid in 2008. It partially stems from a parking variance that allowed the pharmacy to have 47 parking spaces on a parcel that requires 73.

Spirit Halloween received a zoning permit to temporarily operate in the building last year.

With 53 proposed parking spots, Activate would fall short. But M & M Partners at Chapel Ave, LLC — the company that submitted the proposal — contends that the number of parking spaces won't cause issues.

"We anticipate at our busiest, which is nights and weekends, we'd need 37 car spaces for guests & 6 spaces for employees for a total of 43 spaces," wrote Ron Aulenbach, M&M's engineering director.

Activate controls capacity through online booking and a wristband-admission system. Each group of three to five is limited to an hour of play.

The business doesn't expect to fill the parking lot. But if it does, Activate will reduce the number of available booking slots during that time, Aulenbach said.

Families represent about 70 percent of Activate's customers, while the rest tend to be groups of adult friends. The age minimum is 6, and an adult must accompany children ages 6 to 13.

The games are designed for adults and may be challenging for children younger than 10, according to Activate's website.

Hearings at the next Planning Board meeting are set to begin at 7:30 p.m. March 17. The meetings are fully remote and conducted on Zoom. Click here to see how to access the meeting.