Shabazz: Renaissance Plaza Supermarket Set to Expand as Shopping Center Renovations Move Ahead

ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City's only traditional supermarket is preparing for a significant expansion as renovations continue at Renaissance Plaza, according to City Councilman Kaleem Shabazz.

Shabazz said during an appearance on Off The Press with Scott Cronick on WOND that work is already underway at the Atlantic Avenue shopping center and that the supermarket is preparing to expand into an adjacent storefront.

“The market is actually now ready to expand,” Shabazz said. “They are ready to go through the wall and take over what was next.”

Shabazz said the expanded store is expected to add services that residents have long sought.

“They're going to have a bakery in there,” Shabazz said. “They're going to have a pharmacy, they indicate to me, and they're going to have a lot of amenities in there to make that market better for residents and for people who work here and for visitors.”

The development follows a major CRDA initiative announced last year to preserve and improve supermarket service at Renaissance Plaza.

CRDA authorized a long-term agreement with Moran Foods, the company behind Save A Lot, as part of a broader redevelopment of the shopping center. The authority said the project would include infrastructure improvements, enhanced lighting and security, maintenance improvements and an upgraded grocery operation.

Nearly $20 million in public investment was expected to support infrastructure improvements at the plaza, according to the New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

Shabazz said some of that work is now plainly visible.

“They put in new sidewalks all the way around,” he said. “They're working on the roof, and they're doing things in Renaissance Plaza to make it better.”

Security has also been upgraded, Shabazz said.

The plaza has long struggled with complaints involving loitering and other quality-of-life issues, particularly around Pay Less Liquor. State licensing records identify Renaissance Beverage LP, trading as Pay Less Liquor, at 14 Renaissance Plaza.

Shabazz said CRDA is now involved in litigation concerning efforts to have the liquor store leave the shopping center.

“I talked to Eric, the director of CRDA, the executive director of CRDA, and he reports that the liquor store that we're all trying to get moved out of there, they are in litigation,” Shabazz said. “The CRDA took them to court to facilitate them moving out, and the judge has it now.”

South Jersey NewsBeat has not independently reviewed that litigation, so Shabazz's description of the court proceeding should be treated as his account of its status.

The liquor store has been a source of complaints for years. Previous reporting documented concerns about persistent loitering, panhandling, drinking and other activity outside the business.

Shabazz stressed that his criticism isn't directed at liquor stores generally.

“There are other liquor stores in the 3rd Ward, and they are not a problem at all,” he said.

He said the Renaissance Plaza location has been different because of the behavior of some people congregating outside.

“They hang out in front of the liquor store and make remarks to women, and that's a problem,” Shabazz said. “They hang out in front of the liquor store and they ask for money, and that's a problem.”

He was careful to add: “Not everyone who uses this liquor store does that.”

Shabazz credited Atlantic City police with substantially reducing the problems by increasing their presence at the plaza.

“We don't have that same level of intensity now because they have a patrol car in there and they don't have people hanging out like they used to,” Shabazz said. “So that is diminished.”

For Shabazz, the supermarket expansion and physical improvements represent more than upgrades to a shopping center.

They are part of an effort to turn Renaissance Plaza into the type of neighborhood commercial center city officials have envisioned for years.

“We need to have a center city where people can walk unfettered,” Shabazz said, “when women can feel safe to go into the shopping center, when my seniors don't feel unease.”