McDonald's and AutoZone
are planned for Woolwich.

Woolwich Township has named McDonald's and AutoZone as redevelopers of two undeveloped lots on Auburn Road, next to the ShopRite at Center Square Plaza. The Township Committee approved a resolution for each company earlier this month. The two are planned as separate retail buildings, with McDonald's closest to Franklin Bank and AutoZone at the corner of Auburn and Copper Road.

Both lots sit inside the Weatherby Redevelopment Area. Under New Jersey redevelopment procedures, a project inside a designated redevelopment area goes through additional municipal review before it reaches the township's Joint Land Use Board. The redeveloper designation is the step that lets each company move into more advanced negotiations with the township and then into the approval process.

Each designation is effective for 60 days from the date it was adopted, with another 60 days possible, and the Township Committee can grant further extensions by formal action. No Joint Land Use Board hearing dates have been announced.

Formal site plans are not available yet. A concept plan in the developer's commercial real estate materials shows both buildings with parking and access points, no direct driveway onto Auburn Road for either business, two connections to the main ShopRite entrance road, and a new access point from Copper Road into the ShopRite property. That concept is not an approved site plan, and details can change as the projects move through municipal review.

Reported by 42Freeway.com. This is a summary in our own words; the full report is theirs.