07-08-09 – 9:20 p.m. - The controversial Widewaters development in Greenport will come to life in the fall, with its two anchor stores and the “strip” plaza opening within a three-week period.
A representative of the developer told ccSCOOP this week that Greenport Commons—home to a 156,250-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter and Lowe’s, as well as the already opened Applebee’s—will open in September. Leasing agent Tracy Lauer said the Wal-Mart Super- center is scheduled to open on September 7, and the 103,000-square-foot Lowe’s is scheduled to open on September 28 or 29. The “strip” plaza of smaller stores, which is part of the Commons, is slated to open at some time during three-week period between the openings of the anchor stores.
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So far, Lauer reported, Widewaters has signed leases for two of the nine proposed stores in the 37,000-square-foot small-store retail center, now under construction immediately behind Applebee’s, and the developer is in discussion with other businesses about leases. The confirmed new businesses are a Supercuts hair salon and GameStop, a major video game retailer. Others who have expressed an interest but have yet to sign a lease include Carter’s Opticians, a decades-old business now located at the intersection of Route 9 and Atlantic Avenue in Stottville. Marketing materials being circulated by Widewaters also list Kinderhook Bank and Verizon Wireless as prospective tenants of Greenport Commons, with locations that would be built elsewhere on the site.
“We are actively working to fill the stores every day,” said Lauer. “We have several [leases] out there” waiting to be finalized. She cited the ailing economy and the unfinished state of the plaza as reasons why all the stores have not been filled yet.
The announcement of opening dates comes as concern over the traffic impact of the plaza on Joslen Boulevard dominates Greenport Town Board meetings. Residents of Joslen Boulevard allege that the road is being used increasingly by motorists trying to avoid the two new traffic lights that have been installed on Route 9, at entrances to the plaza. The board is weighing several options to slow speeds on the 30 mph road, including installing stop signs at several intersections and making the intersection of Joslen Boulevard and Harry Howard Avenue a four-way stop.
Construction of the plaza, which is located at Greenport’s northernmost border with the Town of Stockport, began in early 2008. It followed more than a year of controversy with citizen groups, led by the Greenport Neighbors Action Group, protesting the project and pressuring the Greenport Planning Board to conduct a thorough environmental review of the project, including a more extensive traffic study than the one done by the developer. In spite of community objections, Greenport Commons received a negative declaration from the Planning Board, indicating that in the board's opinion the project did not represent a significant environmental impact.
The Commons continued to receive community scrutiny, with significant public outcry over an early 2008 request by Widewaters to the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency for tax exemptions. The IDA did not grant the exemptions.
Later in 2008, the project has fined $100,000 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for numerous storm water violations.
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