Pep Boys Applicants to Return Tuesday

A group looking to bring a Pep Boys franchise to the corner of Blackwood Clementon and Little Gloucester roads will go before the Township Planning Board next Tuesday.

It will be the applicants' second trip before the board in three weeks.

The May 22 hearing for the proposed 4,988-square-foot automotive service and tire facility was continued after two hours of testimony, according to officials. The applicants are seeking preliminary and final site plan approval.

The Pep Boys franchise's would-be neighbors—the owner of the McDonald's franchise at 1505 Blackwood Clementon Rd. and residents in the Woodmill development—object to the proposal and are expected to provide testimony at the June 12 meeting, according to Township Council Vice President Orlando Mercado, who sits on the Planning Board.

"His concern is that the individuals that go to service their cars will be parking in his parking lot," Mercardo said of the McDonald's owner during Council's workshop meeting Monday night.

Woodmill residents are concerned about noise from the proposed automotive service center, the councilman said.

Mercado noted the proposed Pep Boys would not include a retail component, making it significantly smaller than some Pep Boys locations in the area, and that its service side would have six bays—two of which would be dedicated to oil changes.

The lot, located on the northwest corner of Blackwood Clementon and Little Gloucester roads, is just 0.79 acres. It previously served as home to a Checkers fast-food restaurant.

The majority of applicants are identified as Texas residents in documentation submitted to the township earlier this year. They are doing business as Embree Asset Group Inc.

The land is owned by a California woman.

"Here's an opportunity to blend a piece of property there. It's a national chain that wants to come into Gloucester Township. And, again, there's not going to be retail, so it's not going to compete with Advance or AutoZone."

Tuesday's meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. It will be held in Council chambers at the municipal building.