Retail, offices OK'd for Applegarth Road Site is across street from future Applegarth Professional Center BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer MONROE - The township's Planning Board last week gave final approval to Renaissance Crossing, a commercial development slated for the northeast corner of Applegarth and Cranbury Half-Acre roads. "I think it will provide services that are needed, particularly in that area of the town," said Township Engineer Ernie Feist, citing the large senior population nearby. An Eckerd pharmacy will be the anchor business for the center, which will be built by Renaissance Properties of Old Bridge. It will also include a Chase Manhattan Bank, a day care center, an office building and a restaurant of undetermined occupancy. The buildings will be situated on an 18.5-acre tract of land. The center will be located across the intersection from the Applegarth Professional Center, which is now under construction and also will be home to a pharmacy. The Planning Board, which voted to approve the development Oct. 5, reserved the right to ask that the commercial center's buffering be supplemented at the site if it is deemed necessary upon review. The board did this to ensure that residents of the adjacent Clearbrook retirement community are not disturbed by the commercial area, said board member John Riggs. Instead of the free-standing sign originally proposed by the developer, a 5-foot brick wall will serve as the sign for the complex, as suggested by the board at the time of preliminary approval in June. The sign will double as a buffer, Riggs said. The board will also require the developer to connect sidewalks to the intersection near the site. Cranbury Half-Acre Road is municipally owned, while Applegarth Road is the jurisdiction of Middlesex County. Renaissance Properties is required to provide a right of way to the county in case widening Applegarth Road becomes necessary in the future. Riggs said it appears that the occupants of the house on the site are in the process of vacating. As soon as the developer is able to obtain all of the necessary permits and meet its requirements, it will move forward with construction, Riggs said. "I don't think they have a construction schedule yet, but I would anticipate that it will start sometime this year," Feist said.