File/A ShopRite supermarket is coming to Atlantic City.
ATLANTIC CITY – The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority agreed Tuesday to provide $18,752,500 to develop a ShopRite supermarket operated by Village Supermarket, Inc. on Block 396 in Atlantic City.
The approval is for the construction and fit out of a 54,609-square-foot supermarket, with onsite parking with 227 spaces, landscaping, lighting and fencing at 267 and 301 N. Ohio Ave., and 1801 Baltic Ave., with an approximately 10,400-square-foot mezzanine for administrative support.
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy said the supermarket would end the city’s “food desert” status and benefit residents and visitors by providing access to affordable, fresh, healthy, high quality groceries.
“A full service grocery store in Atlantic City will affect the quality of life for current community members and will enable us to attract new residents,” CRDA board Chairman Modia Butler said.
“This long awaited project directly addresses the immediate concerns of Jim Johnson’s Building a Foundation for a Shared Prosperity report in 2018 and will negate Atlantic City’s status as a food desert,” CRDA Executive Director Matt Doherty said.
Food deserts are defined as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. A diet consisting of mostly processed and fast foods can cause serious health concerns including heart disease and obesity.
Village, operated by the Sumas family, is a publicly traded company with sales of over $1.6 billion annually and operates 30 ShopRite supermarket stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
A public hearing was conducted on the application on Sept. 2 and based on the evidence and the solid land use planning and engineering testimony provided, the preliminary and final site plan with use, area and variances were recommended for approval by the CRDA board.
