VENTNOR — The new Starbucks at Ventnor Plaza is expected to open Aug. 15, said Mark Greco, owner of the shopping center.
Another business, Greens and Grains, is looking to open in the plaza Aug. 8.
"When we purchased the plaza, it was over 40% vacant, not counting the new pad sites we built," Greco said Friday. "Currently we have only 3.5% vacant and are working on filling that space now."Â
Price Less, a store that will sell clothing, shoes and small appliances, is looking to open Aug. 1.
Already this month, Fratelli's Pizza and a Burger King have opened. A formal grand opening for the Burger King will come in a couple weeks, Greco said.
"We are so proud of all the contractors that have worked so hard to make this a successful revitalization project," Greco said Friday. "The Ventnor City officials have been tremendous as well. They have been responsive to all our requests and kept the project moving forward at a pace most other towns would not be able or willing to do."
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Greco, a real estate developer and local resident, bought the 15.3-acre Ventnor Plaza site in June 2022 with partners.
"As you would expect with a 50+-year-old property, we ran into some unexpected problems along the way and unexpected costs, but we have handled everything and are very excited to see the new businesses opening. The customers all seemed pleased with what we have done," said Greco, noting the challenge was "nothing we couldn't handle."
Renovations for the plaza included repaving the parking lot, adding ornamental lighting and improving the landscape and streetscape by adding new entrances.
The plaza also got a new LED message board at its entrance and a mural by artist Christian Correa. Other improvements included a new paint job for the Acme and an expansion by Smokin' Aces smoke shop.
One of the last planned improvements will be to finish paving the parking lot near the AutoZone Auto Parts store. No timetable has been set, Greco said.
All of the improvements have been welcomed by the plaza's tenants, Greco said.
"Our legacy tenants' sales are all up, and our new tenants are doing well, too. We appreciate all the support our neighbors have given to shop at Ventnor Plaza. This makes all of our local businesses succeed."