West Orange Hits The Target; Planning Board OKs Shopping Center Plans

WEST ORANGE, NJ — It’s official, West Orange: a Target store is headed your way.

On Wednesday, the West Orange Planning Board approved plans for the new West Orange Plaza, which will be anchored by a new Target department store. Slated to open in late spring of 2024, the new plaza will feature a “village” made of shops, restaurants and a pocket park, township officials said.

“In an era when other communities are seeing stores close, we are excited to have this long-awaited, large-scale investment in brick-and-mortar retail in our community,” town officials wrote in a social media post.

Rumors of the ubiquitous chain store’s arrival in West Orange have been swirling for years.

Target’s presence has become deeply entangled with a long-running proposal to make improvements and add four new buildings to the shopping center at 235 Prospect Avenue. The developers have been seeking site plan approval and multiple variances.

Other aspects of the development include the creation of outdoor dining areas and gathering spaces, multiple accessory drive-thru windows, and changes to the landscaping, lighting and signage. Changes have also been proposed for the layout of parking areas and traffic circulation at the site. See Related: Target In West Orange? Renovations Proposed At Shopping Center

Many people in West Orange have been clamoring for a Target location in their township.

"I cannot be more thrilled about a retailer coming to West Orange than I am about this," a resident commented on the town's social media post.

But the proposal hasn’t come without its criticism.

Prior to Thursday’s meeting, local advocacy group Our Green West Orange urged people to attend the meeting and speak out against the plan.

The group wrote:

“We all want an improved shopping center. But not at the expense of our safety, our environment and our aesthetics. The intersection at Eagle Rock and Prospect is one of the most dangerous in West Orange and in all of Essex County. No one is objecting to Target. But, cramming in 17 extra stores including two drive-thrus in the front lot of Prospect Avenue will make traffic even worse. Tell the board we don’t want restaurants with order boards, queueing lines and drive-thru windows. That’s fast food. Over-development in this lot is simply greed.”

Our Green West Orange also said the proposal needs to be more environmentally friendly:

“The applicant testified that there’s a surplus of 250 parking spaces. Tell the board to turn these unneeded parking spots into green spaces that will absorb runoff. Additionally, ask the developer to preserve 10 acres of land behind the shopping complex as a conservation area for the benefit of the town. Ask for more shade trees, plantings and irrigation along the road and throughout the parking lot to ameliorate the heat from asphalt. This application has offered little in the way of sustainability. Why are they not requiring Target to install solar panels when it is part of Target’s own mission plan? They’ve also backed down on their commitment to irrigate the plantings.”

On Thursday, township officials said that the project will have several eco-friendly features, including some rolled out in response to feedback from the public, the planning board and the local Pedestrian Safety Board. They include:

• “Pollinator garden”
• “Substantial landscaping plan”
• “Larger and more tree islands in the parking lots”
• “More permeable surface for less water run-off”
• “16 EV charging stations, with a total of 48 installed over 3 years”
• “Sidewalks surrounding the plaza and within the parking lot to encourage pedestrian-friendly access”

Additional environmental details of the project were discussed in an Oct. 23 memo from the town forester to the planning board, which can be seen here.

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