Rope Suspended to Show Proposed ShopRite Height

Curious about the height of the proposed ShopRite on Greenwood Avenue?

Anyone interested can now stop by the parking lot to view a demonstration of the 62,174-square-foot building's roof line, as well as its highest point.

Two hydraulic scissor lifts have been placed on the choppy blacktop across from the vacant A&P building, with a line adorned by blue flyers running between the rented equipment. The placement does not indicate the footprint of the planned building, but does denote the elevation's height, 26 feet. 

The scissor lift located closest to Boulder Run features an opened ladder that represents the height of the building's clock tower, its highest point at 36 feet, said architect Thomas Ashbahian.

Inserra Supermarkets' attorney James Jaworski, landscape architect Skot Koenig, Ashbahian and a representative of their engineering firm, Lapatka Associates, were on hand Monday to install the demonstration on the request of Mayor Rudy Boonstra and the Planning Board.

If approved, the ShopRite would be larger than the existing supermarket building by several thousand square feet while also being higher off the ground. Boonstra and the board requested the demonstration to get a better idea of how such a project would affect nearby businesses on Main Street and residents and St. Elizabeth's parishioners on Greenwood Avenue.

Jaworski and Inserra complied by renting the scissor lifts, rejecting an idea to float balloons to accomplish the same objectives, with the attorney saying balloons wouldn't have the durability of the demonstration currently visible. Jaworski said he's been assured the lifts and suspended line would be sufficient to satisfy the board's request.

The line will be visible until noon Thursday, following the Planning Board's second hearing on the project, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Memorial Town Hall.

The height, size and general design principles are expected to be discussed Wednesday, when Ashbahian continues testimony begun at the first hearing last month. Jaworski said he does not expect to call other witnesses to the upcoming session, although testimony will continue in coming months on aspects related to the project, including traffic, landscaping and environmental cleanup.

While the suspended line does show the general height of the building, the demonstration should not be taken to mean that the building will have a flat, stagnant roof line. Rather, Ashbahian's design shows a jagged roof line that's impossible to duplicate with rope and scissor lifts.

The architect, a Wyckoff resident, has tweaked his initial plans several times in response to Design Review Board requests, which largely were concerned with producing a building that fits into the general business district aesthetic. Ashbahian's designs were drawn to avoid a "big-box" feel, with the varied roof lines, dormers, gables and more intended to break up the building's mass.

Those designs eventually earned the Design Review Board's recommendation, and Inserra also spent months working with the Shade Tree Commission on the project's landscaping. The planned green space is expected to be discussed at some point at the Planning Board level, as Inserra incorporated many of the commission's suggestions but differed on a few points, including whether to construct an earthen berm or solid wall toward Greenwood Avenue.

If successful at the Planning Board level, where Inserra is asking for several variances, the ShopRite would face Greenwood with its rear visible to Main Street traffic and businesses. The existing building would be demolished, as would the strip mall across the parking lot.