Secaucus Grocery Store Building Was Supposed To Be 35 Townhomes

SECAUCUS, NJ — The building where the Secaucus grocery store just opened was originally planned to become town houses.

This is Grocery Square, located at 845 First Street, with 36 parking spaces in the lot.

The 20,000-square-foot, former taekwondo building would have been torn down and 35 town homes would have been built there; it would have been multiple stories high, according to Raj Patel, the property co-owner.

However, Patel said he knew Mayor Mike Gonnelli would have preferred to see a grocery store open there, so he scrapped the plan for townhouses.

Gonnelli confirmed that the property was approved for townhomes. He said he was very happy to see a grocery store open instead.

"The property was approved, ready to build 35 town homes, ready to start construction," said Patel. "But in order to make the mayor and Council's dream come true for a supermarket in this town, I forgoed the townhouse development and sought out a supermarket tenant because this was the only spot available in the center of town suitable for a community grocery store."

The property is owned by J&A Managing Estates LLC, which Patel co-owns with another company. Patel owns several large tracts of land in Secaucus, and he also owns the Harmony Suites hotel and Candlewood Suites hotel, both in Secaucus. Patel also used to own and operate the pharmacy next to Krauszer's on Meadowlands Parkway.

Sachin Goel, who lives in Secaucus with his wife and children, is the owner of the new grocery store, which he opened with several partners that already operate existing Indian grocery stores elsewhere in North Jersey. Goel and his partners pay rent to landlord Patel. The grocery store sells a lot of Indian food items.

Friday: Secaucus Grocery Store Finally Opens In Old Martial Arts Building