EVESHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ—With a few powerful swings from the bucket of a construction excavator, the walls of the former garden center at an abandoned K-Mart store on Route 70 in the Marlton section of Evesham Township came tumbling down, marking the beginning of site clearance for The Shoppes and Residences at Renaissance Square, a new 112,000 square-foot redevelopment project being undertaken by New York-based RD Management.
After a brief ceremony in front of the locked entrance of the gutted K-Mart store, a nearly 40-year era of "blue-light specials" was officially and permanently laid to rest by Mayor Randy Brown, township officials, and RD Management president and principal Rick Birdoff.
You can watch a short video news report on the ceremony in the video player below.
"I've been mayor since 2007, and this project has been the project that we've worked on easily the longest of any project in Evesham township," Mayor Brown says. "Our goal here is to continue to be progressive here in Evesham and to continue to grow development."
The K-Mart store opened in the late 1970s and closed in 2009, officials said. The former Tri-Towne Center retail strip has been completely vacant for some time. Several storefronts adjacent to the K-Mart will be retained and renovated, Birdoff says.
"Starting in the spring, we're going to start site work and construction of the first residential buildings," says Birdoff. "Our goal is to make this a mixed use facility, where people are going to be living here, working here, entertaining here, and dining here. It's going to transform a site that's been run down, and hopefully will be the cornerstone of further development."
The Shoppes and Residences at Renaissance Square redevelopment will add five buildings containing 338 new luxury rental apartments to the shopping center, as well as an open space park complete with jogging paths, walkways, and a pond. Additional upgrades include new signage and other façade upgrades to the retail portion, and the addition of new retail and restaurant facilities to the existing retail space.
What it means is possibly $100 million in new ratables," says Mayor Brown. "You create jobs for existing residents and reduce taxes. It is going to change the whole fabric of our community."
RD Management owns 23 retail, mixed-use, vacant land, office, and storage properties in New Jersey and has more than 200 properties in its national portfolio.
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Steve Lubetkin
Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].
