The former Huffman Koos furniture store at the Lawrence Shopping Center, which has been vacant for years, will be demolished to make way for the construction of the LA Fitness gym.
The Lawrence Township Construction Department has reviewed and approved the plans for the fitness center. A demolition permit will be issued, followed by a construction permit, Lawrence Township officials said.
“The residents have been patiently waiting for visible signs of progress with the Lawrence Shopping Center and more particularly with the old Acme location that will become a Lidl grocery store and the new LA Fitness site,” Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski said.
The Lawrence Shopping Center is located at 2495 Brunswick Pike, in the southern end of Lawrence Township. It is bordered by Texas Avenue, Brunswick Pike, Princeton Pike and a small stream.
The Lawrence Township Planning Board approved plans for LA Fitness in September 2018 on the site of the former furniture store in the northeast corner of the shopping center. The plan calls for constructing a 34,000-square-foot building.
At the planning board hearing, James O’Sullivan, LA Fitness’ director of development for the northeast, said this LA Fitness would be a “signature club,” which offers amenities not found in a standard LA Fitness gym.
In addition to the usual fitness center facilities, such as a weight room, group fitness room, cardio room and personal training room, the LA Fitness club at the Lawrence Shopping Center will offer a hot yoga room and a high intensity training room, O’Sullivan told the planning board.
The fitness center will be open Monday through Thursday from 5 a.m. to midnight, and from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekend, O’Sullivan said.
LA Fitness is planning to spend about $10 million on the club at the Lawrence Shopping Center, O’Sullivan said.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Township Construction Official Athony Cermele met with the development manager of the Lidl grocery store chain last month to begin the review process in anticipation of applying for construction permits. Lidl plans to open a grocery store in the former Acme grocery store space.
Lidl, which is based in Germany, is in the planning and design phase for the grocery store. It is not known when the store will open in the vacant 39,681-square-foot space formerly occupied by the Acme grocery store.
The former Acme space has been vacant since August 2018. The store’s lease was expiring and representatives of Acme Markets decided not to renew it because the store had not met the company’s goals, a spokesman said.
JJ Operating Inc., which acquired the Lawrence Shopping Center in 2016, had been looking for a grocery store to fill the void that was left when the Acme grocery store shut its doors. The owner closed on the deal to bring Lidl to occupy the space.
The former Acme and Huffman Koos furniture stores are among the 49 retail spaces at the Lawrence Shopping Center. The shopping center is anchored by Staples, PetValue and the Burlington Coat Factory, according to a brochure and flier posted on JJ Operating Inc.’s website.
Several stores have opened at the Lawrence Shopping Center in the last few months, including the Cafe du Pain bakery, the Plato’s Closet clothing store, Bury the Hatchet and City Electric Supply Co.
The 393,430-square-foot shopping center was purchased by JJ Operating Inc. for $16.2 million in December 2016, according to the Lawrence Township Tax Assessor’s Office.
The prior owner, wbcmt 2007-c33 Brunswick Pike LLC, acquired the shopping center at a Mercer County sheriff’s sale in 2013. Lawrence Shopping Center LLC, which owned the shopping center, defaulted on a $39.5 million loan, which led to the sheriff’s sale to pay off the debt.
The Lawrence Shopping Center, which opened in 1960, was the first major shopping center in Lawrence Township. It consisted of 150,000 square feet and 13 stores. The shopping center underwent expansions and renovations several times between 1966 and 1997.
Among the original stores at the Lawrence Shopping Center were the Pantry Pride grocery store; W.T. Grant, which was a 5- and 10-cent store; Dunham’s Department Store; and Lawrence Liquors, according to records on file at the Lawrence Township Tax Assessor’s Office.
