Trader Joe’s, Shake Shack coming to Garden State Park site in Cherry Hill

A restaurant and three retail stores including a Trader Joe's are coming to Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, the latest expansion along Haddonfield Road in the bustling shopping complex.

The updated plans for the site were revealed in architectural drawings submitted by the developer and made public this week by township officials. Besides Trader Joe's, a popular grocery chain with a location in nearby Marlton, the additions will include  TJ Maxx and HomeGoods stores and a Shake Shack restaurant.

Known as The Shoppes at Garden State Plaza, the addition will be constructed on a patch previously designated for townhouses, said John Taikina, director of real estate development for M&M Realty Partners, the main developer for the site. Construction is expected to begin later this month, he said.

"We expect to have stores open in 2020," Taikina said in an interview Wednesday.

Taikina declined to comment on the tenants, which have not been announced by the developer. Earlier this year, the township approved an expansion at the site to add several retailers and a restaurant that would occupy about 81,000 square feet. The plan included additional parking.

The additions would largely complete the retail footprint of the shopping complex, with several projects pending, including a Costco, Taikina said. A 10-acre parcel along Route 70 owned by another developer is the only parcel that has not been designated for development.

Additional development in the Towne Center may include a hotel, Taikina said. M&M Realty Partners controls about two-thirds of the sprawling Garden State Park.

Some locals have dubbed the stretch from the Cherry Hill Mall to Garden State Park the "Golden Mile." A developer last year completed a clubhouse and sleek apartment buildings for those 55 and over and announced plans that called for more than 600 units and condos.

The Trader Joe's and the other stores and restaurant will be built on Haddonfield Road and Garden Park Boulevard between Pier One and PNC Bank, Taikina said. Crews are preparing the site and a model center for the townhouse development on the site was moved to another location on the property, he said.

"We are thrilled to see these exciting new retail options coming to the Garden State Park," Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn said in a statement. "They are a great complement to the existing line of retail and dining options that we now have along Haddonfield Road and we can't wait to officially welcome them into our community."

The plan to build a 158,000-square-foot Costco near the entrance of the development on Route 70 sparked controversy. The plan was approved, but another uproar erupted when the township approved a second ordinance allowing gas stations in certain business zones. An appeal by the owner of the ShopRite supermarket in the nearby Garden State Pavilions is pending in court.

The shopping plaza rose on the site of the old Garden State Park racetrack more than a decade ago.  Developers have transformed the tract of hundreds of acres where horse racing once reigned into a bustling retail and housing complex with stores, restaurants, and a retirement village.