WESTWOOD—Aiming to spur on tenancy at the Westwood Plaza—including at the now vacant former Kmart building—the Borough Council unanimously approved a zoning change Feb. 6 for its shopping center district that permits a variety of recreational businesses that operate entirely within a building.
The last Kmart in the Garden State shuttered its doors last September, following nearly 41 years in operation at the plaza, where it served as anchor store for a variety of retail outlets, including TJ Maxx, European Wax Center, Mattress Firm, GNC, and The UPS Store.
The change for shopping centers permits commercial indoor recreation “including instructional sports training businesses for a fee, courts for tennis, squash, handball and racquetball; skating rinks, including roller and/or ice skating, bowling alleys, golf driving range, gymnastics facility and similar recreational uses provided that their activities are carried on entirely within the enclosed building.”
“The uses recently added to the zone would tend to draw more active consumers and families to the plaza who might be inclined to spend some time in the Central Business District, after they’ve enjoyed the amenities in the Shopping Center,” Mayor Raymond Arroyo told us last week.
Arroyo told us this would include pickleball—America’s fastest growing sport—under the zoning’s “similar recreational uses” provision. Many towns offer outdoor pickleball courts, although complaints about noise have limited playing hours in some communities.
Asked about flooding concerns at Westwood Plaza, Arroyo said the recent NJDEP approval to the Plaza’s landlord, Hekemian & Company of Hackensack, to add 26,000 square feet of potential retail space there came as a shock. “We were surprised, considering the worsening flood conditions and higher NJDEP flood elevations along the Pascack Brook.”
Arroyo said that Hekemian said it wanted “additional retail space” in its application to NJDEP to expand, but did not provide details.
Asked what the borough might like to see regarding a new business or recreational use at the plaza, Arroyo said the shopping center zone “should complement rather than undercut what is available for consumers in the downtown.”
He said, “We think the amended uses are consistent with our constituents’ vision for the plaza. They offer activities that are not commonly found downtown. And they mesh well with the ecosystem of uses that make up a diversified, independent zone plan.”
Arroyo said that Hekemian was notified of the Feb. 6 council hearing, along with other property owners within 200 feet. He said the proposed recreational uses were “consistent with the direction and intent of the (borough’s) Master Plan. So we wanted to clarify the ordinance and include similar uses that would also be desirable.”
A representative from Hekemian did not return a request to comment on the new zoning and plans for Westwood Plaza.
For more background on this story, see “Hearing Feb. 6 on zoning update in Westwood Plaza,” Jan. 27, 2024, Pascack Press.