ShopRite In Manchester Aiming To Move To Larger Site, Official Says

MANCHESTER, NJ — Manchester Township residents who have found themselves weary of crowded aisles at the ShopRite of Manchester have some positive news headed their way: The grocery store's ownership is working on a move to a larger site.

The plan was revealed at the Manchester Township Council meeting on Monday night.

Carl Block, the township's business administrator, said the Saker family is working on the plan to construct a new store on Route 37, at the site that was once proposed for a Super Walmart.

Block revealed the proposal in response to comments from a resident who was voicing concerns about the impact of the township's affordable housing plan.

The woman told the council she carefully plans her trips to ShopRite of Manchester to go when it is least crowded, and said adding more residents would overwhelm an already crowded store.

She asked if there were any plans to draw more grocery stores to Manchester, and that's when Block shared the plans for the new ShopRite.

Block said the plans are still in the works but the owners hope to have the application complete and submitted within 60 days.

The approval process is more complicated because the property involved is the site on Route 37 that straddles Manchester and Toms River that was proposed for a Super Walmart.

The developer will have to submit proposals to both the Manchester and Toms River planning boards for approval, along with getting approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The Super Walmart that was proposed was held up for years due to legal battles in part regarding the northern pine snake and the size of the proposed Walmart.

Walmart withdrew its plans for the 200,000-square-foot store in 2017.

Block, who was the Ocean County administrator starting in 2010, while the legal battle raged over the site, said part of the objection to the Walmart was the size of the proposed store. The size of the planned ShopRite would fit what the NJDEP was willing to approve at the site, Block said.

There was no timetable for how long it might be before the store might be built because the approval process has so many layers to it, Block said.