Harrison Township reviewing reuse plan for Rt. 77 furniture store

Joseph P. Smith, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Updated ·2 min read
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HARRISON TWP. — The township will wait a bit longer to question Mantua investors about their designs for the former Robert Starr Furniture property and a neighboring house.

The properties are on a stretch of Route 77 that got its own local redevelopment plan. The proposal from owner Starr Properties LLC appears to stay close to the official concept from 2021.

The proposal calls for the existing store at 147 Bridgeton Pike (Rt. 77) to be renovated for lease, with demolition of the adjacent house at 149 Bridgeton Pike. Out of that would emerge 15,000 square feet of renovated building space, surrounded by 148 parking spaces.

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The old store and house are in a commercial district just south of the township’s Main Street District in Mullica Hill and near the Mullica Plaza shopping center. Bridgeton Pike is heavily traveled there, which has translated into commercial development.

The township Joint Land Use Board was prepared to hold a public hearing on the proposal in March. The applicant postponed and was to appear at the Sept. 21 board meeting, only to cancel again. The house was demolished in the interim. The board was to do its review on Oct. 5, but it was cancelled again until Oct. 19.

The former Robert Starr Furniture store property at 147 Bridgeton Pike in Mullica Hill, and an adjacent residential property at 149 Bridgeton Pike, are part of a development application submitted to the Harrison Township Joint Land Use Board. A scheduled March 16, 2023 hearing was postponed. A hearing now is set for Oct. 5. PHOTO: March 30, 2023. (Credit: Joseph P. Smith)

Property records show the store was built in 1957 and the house in 1970. The records show Mantua residents Lisa and Anthony Fiorentino bought them in November 2021 for $975,000 and $312,000, respectively.

In 2021, Harrison declared the area “in need of redevelopment” under New Jersey land use law criteria.

This story was updated Oct. 6.

This house at 149 Bridgeton Pike was demolished as part of a redevelopment of the adjacent former Robert Starr Furniture store. A previously postponed application is before the Harrison Township Joint Land Use Board on Oct. 5. PHOTO: March 30, 2023. (Credit: Joseph P. Smith)
This house at 149 Bridgeton Pike was demolished as part of a redevelopment of the adjacent former Robert Starr Furniture store. A previously postponed application is before the Harrison Township Joint Land Use Board on Oct. 5. PHOTO: March 30, 2023. (Credit: Joseph P. Smith)

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Harrison, investors ready to compare plans to reuse Rt. 77 store