Clark Commons
Raritan Road and Central Avenue
Clark, Union County, NJ
The Clark Commons Shopping Center, is a brand-new 245,000 square foot Community Shopping Center located on Raritan Road and Central Avenue (Exit 135 of the Garden State Parkway) in Clark, Union County, New Jersey.
A 180,000 +/- square foot industrial/manufacturing facility built and occupied by United States Gypsum (“USG”) in 1948 that operated 24-hours, 365 days a year was situated on this 28 acre site until 2012, at which time, the facility was shuttered.
The Owner (USG) hired a prominent National Real Estate Company to market the property without specifying a price or intended use. After a lengthy vetting process in which over 200 National and Regional Developers conveyed interest, the field was narrowed down to four finalists. Ultimately, Krame Development was the successful bidder and the party entrusted by the Seller to create maximum value.
Numerous environmental issues needed to be addressed, including but not limited to those dealing with hazardous materials, wetlands and ground water contamination from an off-site source. Furthermore, the property was zoned for industrial use only and surrounded on three sides by County Roads, including the busiest signalized intersection in all of Union County.
Working very closely with the Township of Clark and various Governmental Agencies having jurisdiction over the site and proposed project, Krame Development was successful in getting the subject property rezoned and Final Site Plan approvals in a timely manner.
Although not required to do so, Krame Development committed to spending millions of dollars for off-site traffic improvements and proceeded to acquire adjacent property from Conrail in order to create better traffic flows for the community at-large.
We are extremely proud of the public/private effort put forth to create this wonderful and unique shopping experience for the residents of Clark and surrounding communities. The shopping center has been 100% leased from day one by Whole Foods, L.A. Fitness, Home Goods, Michael’s, Mattress Firm, City-MD, Petco, Party City, Dress Barn, Ulta, Carter’s Osh-Kosh, Five Below, Visionworks, Noodles, PNC Bank, Panera Bread, Chipotle, Panda Express, Applebee’s, Vitamin Shoppe, Smashburger, Blaze Pizza, Red Mango, Torrid, Hallmark and Verizon Wireless.