Hampshire, Pinnacle get OK for Montclair plaza redevelopment

The 216,772-square-foot Lackawanna Plaza in Montclair received final municipal approvals for redevelopment this week, as announced by joint venture partners the Hampshire Companies and Pinnacle Companies. With construction already slated to begin later this year, both companies have agreed to reposition the plaza into a mixed-use complex with residential and retail components, as well as office space, according to ROI-NJ. The outlet noted that Lidl, a German supermarket chain, will anchor the development with a 28,509-square-foot grocery store. The overall redevelopment plan calls for an additional 35,714 square feet of retail, 21,032 square feet of office space and 153 residential units. Hampshire, a Morristown-based developer, said the project will involve the preservation of significant portions of the plaza, which was built in 1913. Hampshire and Pinnacle are partnering on two other projects in Montclair, where various redevelopment projects are transforming the face of the Essex County township. Both companies are slated to open the 159-room MC Hotel this spring and are currently overseeing the development of a 45,735-square-foot medical office building preleased by Hackensack Meridian Health. In a statement, Hampshire executive Robert Schmitt said the redevelopment of Lackawanna Plaza is “a chance to breathe a second life into a site that holds such a special place in a town’s history… while preserving the aspects of the site that have made it so important to Montclair for over a century.” [ROI-NJ]