ShopRite Clock Towers May be Cut From Plans

The design of the proposed ShopRite on Greenwood Avenue is likely to change once again.

The township Planning Board indicated dissatisfaction Wednesday with the aesthetics of the 62,174-square-foot building, whose look and materials were recommended by the advisory Design Review Board earlier this year. Inserra Supermarkets' representatives said they would comply with requests to alter their site plans.

Two planned clock towers have been debated at length in recent months, prompting tweaks to the site design, but Planning Board Chairman Richard Bonsignore is not satisfied with the finished product.

"I don't get them. I don't get one of them, I don't get two of them. You don't need those towers; they don't improve anything," he said, at a meeting that turned contentious at times when the board heard from the public as well as an attorney representing Stop & Shop.

Inserra attorney James Jaworski told the board they "thought (the towers) were an architectural feature of significance" but said Inserra would alter plans in keeping with the chairman's wishes.

Mayor Rudy Boonstra also had expressed doubt about the need for towers, worrying that they "sort of loom over Main Street," which the rear elevation faces.

"We will do what we have heard tonight and fix the problem," Jaworski said.

Inserra architect Thomas Ashbahian has testified previously that the clock towers were decorative elements designed to soften the edges of the building, which would face Greenwood Avenue after the existing supermarket building is razed. Design Review members, who were charged with reviewing the architecture and forwarding comments to the Planning Board, weren't initially convinced of the need for the towers but relented after Ashbahian tweaked their appearance to better fit the red brick of the structure.

Bonsignore wasn't entirely pleased with the aesthetics after several Design Review hearings.

"I would have expected a better product," he said.

Ashbahian was the only witness to offer testimony Wednesday, in his second appearance before the Planning Board. Jaworski had intended to complete the architect's testimony at the session before moving on to other witnesses. However, he will likely be called back until the board is comfortable with the designs.

"I don't think the architectural aspect of this application is over," Bonsignore said.

The chairman also wants a clear indication of signage planned for the building and asked Jaworski to include the specifications in Inserra's application. Although renderings show two "ShopRite" signs on the front elevation, which would face Greenwood, those markers are merely place-holders. Jaworski said the application would be amended, but wasn't immediately available Thursday for additional comment.

Ashbahian's testimony Wednesday largely concerned the height of the building and the plans for the building's roof, which would feature the supermarket's mechanical equipment, such as HVAC units.

Boonstra thanked Inserra for complying with a request to illustrate the building's height, which was accomplished this week with scissor lifts and rope. 

"I found it helpful to get the spatial relationship," the mayor said.

Jaworski conceded that the demonstration, which shows the roof line at 26 feet and the aforementioned towers at 36 feet, may appear imposing on the mostly vacant lot but are dimensions in keeping with nearby buildings.

"The texture of our heights will fit in very well with the buildings that surround us," said Ashbahian, a Wyckoff resident.

The architect testified that the Main Street buildings that would be in full view of the ShopRite, including the building containing Chocolate Etc. and the professional building on the corner of Main Street and Everett Avenue, are 25.6 feet and 25.3 feet high, respectively. The next-door Stop & Shop is almost 28 feet high, Ashbahian said, while the nearby Bergen Brick Stone & Tile on Wyckoff Avenue, as well as Memorial Town Hall both exceed the ShopRite height.

"Visually, it will almost perfectly comport" with area buildings, Ashbahian said.

He also testified that the building's roof equipment won't be seen by motorists or passersby. Ashbahian calculated the view from Greenwood Avenue and Boulder Run to submit that "one's eyeline would go well over the roof.

"There won't be visibility of any equipment," he said.

However, he stipulated that Inserra would screen any rooftop mechanical equipment if the board desired additional shielding.

The hearing also was marked by a contentious cross-examination of Ashbahian by an attorney representing Stop & Shop, as well as comments from the public questioning the building's design. To read more, see this article.