The Shops @Rockvale’s redevelopment project moved one step forward on Monday night.
The master plan for the redevelopment was accepted by the East Lampeter Township board of supervisors with the condition that the developer works to improve on the design of the non-residential structures and uses.
Officials from Fernmoor Homes, the new owner of the struggling Shops @Rockvale in Lancaster County, were in front of the board with its proposed master plan for the redevelopment of the 65-acre property.
The project includes 504 apartments -- 15 four-story buildings with 32 apartments each as well as one mixed-use building with commercial use on the first floor and 24 apartments on floors two to four. The buildings will include a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments.
A tot lot is planned for the shopping center.
Officials are still working on the exact plans for a clubhouse. Some possible options could include things like a swimming pool, volleyball court, fire pit, outdoor gathering spaces, and a dog park.
“We’re really trying to make it an attractive place where people want to live,” Chris Venarchick, an architect with RGS Associates told the board of supervisors.
A pedestrian/bicycle path is planned for the property.
There will be 1,906 parking spaces.
Fernmoor officials said they plan to tear down about 267,000 square feet of retail space and replace it with the multi-family residential apartment buildings and relocate retailers from the spaces that are set for demolition to the 268,000 square feet of existing retail buildings that will remain. Fernmoor also plans to redevelop some of the commercial buildings as well. After relocating existing tenants, there will be 20% of space that will still need to be filled, Fernmoor officials previously said.
“This is an opportunity to really do something with the property and reinvigorate the property with residential [buildings] as well as revitalizing the commercial end of the property,” Venarchick said.
(Readers can see what the shopping center’s new owner envisions for the future of The Shops @Rockvale by clicking on the gallery)
The shopping center is beginning to relocate stores to make way for construction. Women’s retailer Bon Worth will be relocating from suite 305 to suite 1715, a 2,700-square-foot space.
The Scent Master, a fragrance retailer, will relocate from suite 120 to suite 1820 occupying 3,000 square feet of space.
Fashion-forward Maurice’s will be relocating by the summer of 2023 from suite 112 to suite 718 and will occupy 4,991 square feet of space.
A building that was once home to the Rockvale Diner and Bob Evans will be demolished. That building closed at The Shops @Rockvale in 2020. Demolition will begin this month to create space for an undisclosed national chain.
One building along Route 30 will be split into two to provide an option for outdoor dining.
A Fernmoor official also previously said the company is having initial conversations with a grocery store chain.
Sushi Heaven, a restaurant serving Japanese cuisine, has opened at the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant at space 801, a 7,025-square-foot space in the shopping center. The restaurant features “All-You-Can-Eat healthy and authentic Japanese cuisine”. Customers pay one fixed price and can order all the items on the menu without limitation. Sushi Heaven also has a restaurant on Gateway Drive in Hampden Township.
Next Fernmoor hopes to submit land development plans.
Jackson-New Jersey-based Fernmoor Homes paid the Eatontown, New Jersey-based Wharton Realty Group $30.5 million for The Shops @Rockvale in East Lampeter Township in December, according to county records. The Wharton Realty Group paid $30 million for the property back in 2017.
The shopping center has 38 tenants according to its website. There are around 57 vacancies at the property.
The shopping center is located at 35 S. Willowdale Drive and is about 45 minutes from Harrisburg.
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