The Port Washington North Board of Trustees approved the site plans for a T.J. Maxx in the village during their meeting on Wednesday.
“Soundview Marketplace is undergoing a significant change,” said Mayor Bob Weitzner of the location where the T.J. Maxx would be joining the recently-opened Target.
The store would occupy 21,414 square feet of space in the northern part of the shopping complex, located along Soundview Drive. The space is currently occupied by an Ace Hardware, a GNC, and a couple of empty stores.
Jay Tuller, the architect for the project, gave a presentation that was practically the same as the one he gave to the village last month.
He described the store as a “standard T.J. Maxx” and said the building would be fixed up before being occupied, which meant a fresh coat of paint and new shingles.
He also said the entrance would be moved to the moved the southwest corner of the building, where two 18-by-6 foot illuminated signs would be installed. A covered canopy would also be installed in the back over the loading docks.
As with the last time Tuller gave the presentation, members of the board had concerns with the project.
A major concern was the entrance to the T.J. Maxx, which the trustees said could create a traffic hazard.
Trustee Sherman Scheff said he was almost hit by a car at that intersection recently.
The trustees said pedestrians would be hard to see amongst the pillars outside the store and the cars parked in front of the store for loading.
But the intersection is located on Soundview Marketplace, which is private property and not under the village’s control.
Weitzner recommended a stop sign or “some form of traffic control.”
The trustees and representatives for T.J. Maxx also haggled over a few inches on the size of the illuminated sign and of the lettering on the Soundview Marketplace pylon sign.
“T.J. Maxx slams you with how big and fat they are, those block letters,” Trustee Michael Malatino said. “It should be shrunk to what Target is.”
The board said that the pylon sign size would need to be further studied. But the site plan was approved as long as some form of traffic control was added to the front of the store.
The board also approved plans for the Cactus Cafe, located at 19 Old Shore Road.
“We’re very excited about this,” Weitzner said. “There’s not much in the way of takeout Tex-Mex.”
The board approved applications for conditional use and a sign permit.
Representatives for the restaurant said they wanted to be open by the end of the summer, but village officials said that construction time and the inspection by the fire marshal meant that goal might be a bit optimistic.
