Supermarket At Montclair’s Lackawanna Plaza? Plans Moving Along

MONTCLAIR, NJ — What would a new supermarket at Lackawanna Plaza in Montclair look like?

This nebulous but oft-debated question took its latest turn during the Montclair Planning Board’s meeting on Monday, when developers discussed their vision of a grocery storefront façade that will hopefully replace the vacant Pathmark, which shut its doors in 2015 to the dismay of many nearby residents.

During the planning board meeting, Brian Stolar, president of developer Pinnacle Companies, discussed tweaks to the plan for the Lackawanna Plaza property, which is located near the historic Lackawanna train station. (Watch a video from the meeting below)

The area – designated as an "Area in Need of Redevelopment" in 2015 – is bordered to the north by Glenridge Avenue, to the east by Block 4202, Lots 2 and 5, to the south by Bloomfield Avenue, and to the west by Lackawanna Plaza and Greenwood Avenue.

According to a website promoting the project, its developers – The Hampshire Companies and The Pinnacle Companies – have the following plans for Lackawanna Plaza:

• Bringing a new supermarket in the former Pathmark location on the west parcel with additional parking
• Reducing the number of residences proposed on the east side by 56% percent to 154 units from 350 units originally proposed
• Emphasizing architectural nods to the historic elements on the site

Developers wrote:

“The site currently consists of two parcels, separated by Grove Street. The west side of Grove Street is home to the historic former Delaware Lackawanna & Western railroad terminal, which is now occupied by a restaurant, a vacant approximately 20,000 square foot office building, a vacant former Pathmark supermarket and an enclosed, nearly abandoned shopping mall. The east side of Grove Street is currently used for surface parking to serve the retail uses on the west parcel.”

Learn more about the proposal and see site plans here.

• See related article: Montclair's Lackawanna Plaza Not Getting A ShopRite, Developer Says
• See related article: Montclair's Lackawanna Plan Lacks A Consensus
• See related article: Last Stand for the Lackawanna

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Artist rendering via lackawannaplaza.com