Kohl's Gets Key Approval at 150,000-SF Center

The new Kohl's store will add up to 95,000 sf, and the department store will join an existing Foodtown supermarket as a center anchor. According to the just-approved first-phase plan offered up by Middlebrook at Monmouth general manager Robert Silverstein, an existing building that is currently occupied by Cost Cutters, Frank's Big & Tall and Weight Watchers will be torn down and replaced by the new construction for Kohl's. The estimated cost is $7 million, according to Silverstein.

The plan also calls for Frank's Big & Tall to be relocated to another building at the southern end of the shopping center, which is situated along Route 35. Weight Watchers will similarly be relocated, to a spot to be determined. And Cost Cutters will exit the shopping center entirely.

The project still requires a stream encroachment permit from the New Jersey DEP--the new Kohl's building will be closer to the rear of the property and the bordering Harvey Brook than the existing facility. And a soil erosion permit from Monmouth County still needs to be obtained.

Middlebrook at Monmouth is also expected to apply for a permit to start phase two of the center's makeover, a step that would largely entail facade improvements to the rest of the facility, including the Foodtown store, according to Silverstein. No date has been set for that application.