Planning Board Greenlights New Costco Store Despite Traffic Worries
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, it’s official: Costco is coming to Paramus, New Jersey! After an eight-month-long review process, the borough’s Planning Board unanimously approved the application for the discount warehouse giant on Thursday night, October 2nd.
The new, 184,000-square-foot facility will be built on a prime piece of real estate at 859 Route 17 South. The development will revitalize a major commercial lot, replacing the site of a former Stop & Shop supermarket, an adjacent Kmart, and a strip mall—all of which have been vacant for years. The existing, sprawling structures will be demolished to make way for the new, concentrated Costco building.
This will mark Costco’s 21st retail location in New Jersey, adding to its North Jersey presence in Teterboro, Wayne, Clifton, and East Hanover.
Paramus Mayor: A ‘Good Day’ for Taxpayers
Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza, who also sits on the Planning Board and voted in favor of the project, celebrated the decision.
“Costco is a premiere retailer in the United States, and they are choosing to call Paramus home,” Mayor DiPiazza stated in a Facebook post. He emphasized the economic benefits and the benefit of cleaning up the blight, noting, “They are filling an abandoned property… They’re keeping our commercial corridor vibrant, which helps the taxpayers, and they’re doing so with a plan to protect residents that are their neighbors as well.”
The project’s planner, Matt Flynn, supported this view, pointing out that concentrating retail operations into one structure moves the building mass away from many residents compared to the current, sprawling configuration.
Resident Concerns Over Route 17 Traffic
The road to approval wasn’t without bumps, primarily focused on traffic impact. During the final hearing, residents from nearby streets like Wynetta Place and Linwood Avenue voiced significant concerns about increased congestion on the already busy Route 17.
Costco’s traffic expert, Nicholas Verderese, estimated that the store could generate about 900 car trips during peak hours, an increase of roughly 100 trips per hour compared to when Stop & Shop was operating. Verderese called this a “conservative” estimate, noting the Paramus store will not have a gas station, a feature at other locations that typically adds to traffic volume.
Despite the data, resident Steve Wolf of Kramer Drive expressed his fear that traffic would be worse than predicted, citing a noticeable increase in congestion on Route 17 southbound in recent months.
To address resident concerns, Costco previously agreed to enhance the property’s perimeter by adding an 8-foot-tall fence on top of the slope and planting new trees to create a separation buffer from nearby residential neighborhoods.
With the approval secured, the focus now shifts to the next phase, though no timeframe for construction was discussed at the October 2nd meeting.
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Outstanding. Overdue
A nightmare in the making.
And the Paramus mayor and planning board just don’t care. Residents’ concerns about the additional traffic nightmares on Rte 17; Linwood and Paramus Rd were basically dismissed.
Hopefully there will be shuttle buses from the Port Authority and Spring Valley/Monsey for those shoppers without automobiles!
Like Woodbury Commons, everyone needs to benefit from having this fantastic chain on the Ridgewood border, not just people lucky enough to have Grand Cherokees.
Why does everyone need to benefit? Drive if you can, if not figure out another way to get there and if not….oh well.
Doesn’t part of this property fall within Ridgewood’s border?
Either way, this is exciting and a great opportunity.
Thousands of highly desirable consumers now pouring into the area…let’s hope our crack council can come up with a marketing plan to monetize.
Fantastic news. Hopefully a lot of these Costco shoppers driving here will also make their way to our vibrant downtown.
Right!!
Yeah right. Who goes to Costco, fills up their car with perishable produce, and then visits the local downtown?
Vibrant downtown? Paramus has no downtown . Oh, you mean the ever increasing traffic jams on Route 17.
Aside from the Rt.17 traffic that ALREADY slows down there, the Paramus Road/Linwood intersection will be a literal nightmare. Imagine the U-turns at 17 and Linwood? The county will need to help the traffic flow by adjusting the red/green light sequence, which they will never do because they never fix anything. This area is doomed, Maple Ave and N/S Ridgewood side streets will feel the pain, as folks avoid 17 and Paramus Road. Ugh! Let the fun begin. Moving to Florida.
Bye
The store probably isn’t in your backyard.
You’re complaining about traffic and talking about moving to Florida???
Have you driven in a car there in the last five years???
PS: Good luck with your homeowners insurance.
Florida LOL.
Change is difficult for some folks
At least that area will be fixed up because it’s a shit show right now and if you’re living a quarter mile from that location, at least you have a place to go shopping. Instead of driving to Townes Way.
Everyone was so sad to see the Fireplace go, until they couldn’t resist going to Chick-fil-a for all of their quick service needs. Now they will hate Costco, until they need 96-rolls of paper towels and 5-pound bags of potato chips at deeply discounted prices.
This is the best thing to happen to the Ridgewood area in years.
Build it in Ridgewood instead since you think it’s the best thing that has happened to Ridgewood in years.
I hope our good friends and neighbors in Paramus invite KK and the Council of Clowns to the ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration.
This is the best thing to happen to our growing city of Ridgewood in years.
We are on our way to becoming the Fort Lee of Northwest Bergen County!