HANOVER — After more than a year of speculation, township officials have confirmed the worst-kept secret in town: Amazon Fresh is coming to Cedar Knolls Plaza.
Renovations at the former Morris County Mall began last year and the Township Committee in September approved a developer agreement for the 43,500-square-foot space, originally a Foodtown Grocery store.
The committee unanimously approved the deal with Interstate Realty Co., which followed last year's vote by the Planning Board to OK the Englewood Cliffs-based developer's plans for the half-century-old mall.
Documents and testimony leading to those approvals, however, did not identify Amazon Fresh as a new tenant at the Ridgedale Avenue site. And until recently, officials had declined to address the frequent rumors among residents about Amazon's pending arrival. But that changed this week.
"As far as we know, Amazon Fresh is going into the mall," Hanover Business Administrator Joseph Giorgio confirmed to the Daily Record on Thursday. "It's a long time coming and we're very happy. We want to see that mall up and running 100%. Things are shaping up very nicely there."
Just when Amazon Fresh will move in was still unclear. Interstate Realty could not be reached for comment, and Amazon did not respond to email inquiries Thursday.
What's different about Amazon Fresh?
Launched in 2007 as a grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh opened its first physical locations in 2020. The fourth New Jersey location debuted earlier this month in Woodland Park. Customers there began to line up at 4:30 a.m. for the grand opening at 8 a.m.
Amazon has touted its brick-and-mortar supermarkets' ability to merge the convenience of online shopping with an elevated in-store experience. The locations offer fast grocery delivery and pickup options in addition to traditional in-store amenities, the company says.
Amazon Fresh sites also incorporate new technology, including "Dash Carts" with sensors that scan products and allow customers to pay via their Amazon.com accounts.
Hanover mall started small
Current anchor tenants at the 258,000-square-foot Cedar Knolls Plaza include a Walmart, Planet Fitness and a Michaels. The mall also is home to a Home Court indoor pickleball facility, a McDonald's and Affinity Federal Credit Union.
The shopping center was small by local standards even when it opened in 1974, with a Bradlees department store as an anchor store and a two-screen General Cinema movie theater. The location struggled over the years to attract customers and retain tenants.
Rockaway Townsquare, still the largest mall in Morris County, opened in 1977 with Sears, JC Penney, Lord & Taylor and Bamberger's anchoring more than 1.2 million square feet of space. More recently, the Cedar Knolls site has faced competition from new retailers and dining options at the Hanover Crossroads shopping center across Ridgedale Avenue.
Hanover Mayor Thomas "Ace" Gallagher said his office has spent more than two years addressing redevelopment need in the township in an effort to bring in new tax ratables.
Pine Plaza on Route 10 also gets a revamp
Township officials have "been working extremely hard with many top professionals to aggressively repurpose and update zoning on existing commercial and retail properties that currently cannot compete due to the limits of outdated zoning and regulations," Gallagher said.
The Cedar Knolls Plaza property was zoned in 1971 as a shopping center, but with restrictions on lighting and other aspects that limited its growth, he said. That zoning was recently changed to match that of the newer Hanover Crossroads.
With Amazon Fresh, Cedar Knolls Plaza "is now almost at full capacity with incredible businesses, which translates into good ratables for our township," Gallagher said.
Another major Hanover shopping center, Pine Plaza on Route 10, was demolished in 2021. A new shopping center, Hanover Towne Center, will replace it. Announced tenants include a BJ's Wholesale Club.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com
Twitter/X: @wwesthoven