What's going into the old ShopRite? People in New Milford have been asking since June 2019. That's when the store moved about a mile away to 250 River Road and left a dark supermarket at the corner of River Road and Dilworth Road. We finally have a detailed answer. On October 20, 2026, the borough posted a Planning Board application for the site. It lays out the plan building by building.
The application doesn't ask the board to allow more apartments, taller buildings or less parking. The size of this project was settled more than a year ago. What's still open is the small strip of shops along River Road, which is the part most of us will actually use.
What the October filing describes
The applicant is 814 River Road Urban Renewal LLC. It's listed as the contract purchaser, which means it has a deal to buy the land but doesn't own it yet. The site covers 810 and 814-820 River Road, which is two lots. One holds the empty supermarket. The other is a former bank building that's now a medical office. Both buildings would be torn down.
Here's what the application proposes in its place:
| Component | What's proposed |
|---|---|
| Buildings | Three new buildings |
| Homes | 160 rental units: 128 market-rate, 32 affordable |
| Age-restricted | 8 of the affordable units, in a separate mixed-use building |
| Commercial | 12,500 sq ft of retail, restaurant or commercial space at ground level |
| Parking | About 300 spaces, all on site |
| Amenities | About 11,000 sq ft of indoor amenity and lobby space, a 7,640 sq ft courtyard, a 3,820 sq ft rooftop |
| Site | 4.14 acres, with 304 ft of frontage on River Road and 300 ft on Dilworth |
The scale is easier to picture next to what's there now. The two existing buildings cover 42,533 square feet at ground level. The proposal would bring that to 74,600 square feet, with 261,120 square feet of floor space across all levels.
How the size got settled
None of these numbers came out of nowhere. The site has been moving through borough approvals for almost a decade, and each step narrowed what could be built.
- February 27, 2017. Ordinance 2017-01 zoned the site for up to 135 homes, 27 of them affordable, plus 12,500 square feet of retail. It was part of an affordable housing settlement. Under that zoning, the commercial uses named included "supermarket and banking uses."
- June 2019. ShopRite opened its new, larger store at 250 River Road, and NorthJersey.com reported that the original had closed. A later borough report found no new development on the site after that, and the supermarket stayed empty.
- August to December 2024. The council ordered a study of the site in August. The Planning Board held a hearing on November 26. On December 16, Resolution 2024-270 named both lots a non-condemnation redevelopment area.
- July 28, 2025. The council passed Ordinance 2025-21, adopting a redevelopment plan dated June 23, 2025. The plan the borough posted ahead of that vote allows "a maximum of 160 dwelling units" with a 50-foot height limit.
- October 20, 2026. The application was filed for exactly 160 units.
Compare the 2017 zoning with the 2025 plan. The number of homes allowed went from 135 to 160. The commercial space stayed at 12,500 square feet. More homes fit on the corner now, and room for shops stayed the same.
The variances are about signs
The plan already allows 160 units, so the filing asks for no relief on unit count, height, yards or parking. The variance form lists only this:
Area, length and height variances for proposed freestanding monument sign; area variance and temporal variance for temporary leasing sign
The same form spells out the bigger bar for other requests. A request to go more than 10% over the height limit, or to change the use, would have to go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. This application stays with the Planning Board as a site plan review with sign variances. At this stage, the board is reviewing how the project is laid out: driveways, sidewalks, the sign at the corner and where the buildings sit.
Where the shops would go, and what could fill them
For anyone who drives River Road every day, this is the part to watch. The 2025 plan lays out how the site should be arranged. Commercial buildings would sit on the east side, closest to River Road. The apartment building would sit on the west side and could include a little commercial space of its own. The main driveway would come off River Road, with one or more extra driveways on Dilworth Road. Some parking would go under the residential building, using the way the land slopes, and sidewalks would run along both streets and through the site.
The plan's list of allowed businesses reads like a list of everyday errands:
- Retail stores and personal services
- Offices, medical offices and banks
- Health clubs
- Restaurants, including fast-casual spots with drive-through or pickup windows
- Laundry and dry cleaning, including self-service
The 2017 zoning named a supermarket as a possible use. The 2025 list doesn't mention one. The filing names no tenants. With 12,500 square feet split among storefronts, picture a small row of shops or a few quick-service spots. The buildings standing there now cover 42,533 square feet at ground level, so commercial space on this corner would be less than a third of today's footprint.
Meanwhile, River Road keeps getting new businesses on its own schedule. Cranberry Junction Ice Cream opened its third location at 370 River Road, in the old Crave Creamery space, NorthJersey.com reported in September. Whatever goes into the 814 River Road storefronts will join a street that's already busy.
What still has to happen
A filed application isn't an approval. The forms leave the hearing date and decision blank. Every outside approval on the list is marked pending:
- Bergen County Planning Board
- Borough tree removal and major soil moving permits
- Bergen County Soil Conservation District
- Borough sewer approval and Bergen County Utilities Authority sewer approval
- NJDEP Treatment Works Approval
- Veolia Water service connection
The tax side has a document of its own. Ordinance 2026:01 approves a long-term tax exemption. Instead of regular property taxes, the developer would make annual payments under a financial agreement, often called a PILOT, for 30 years from completion and no more than 35 years from signing. The ordinance makes this conditional on the project following the redevelopment plan. The ordinance gives a slightly different count from the application: 128 market-rate units, 8 age-restricted affordable units and 24 other affordable units. That adds up to the same 160. Its adoption was on the council agenda for February 23, 2026. The borough's Minutes & Agendas page marks that date "Cancelled."
The Planning Board's October agenda listed 814 River Road under new business. It set an October 27 work session and a public session on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, as the next meetings. Public sessions include time for public comment, and the borough's application files page has the plans so you can read them first.
Do you live near River Road and Dilworth and wonder what this corner could mean for your block, or for your home's value down the road? I follow the 814 River Road filings closely and I'm glad to talk them through with you, in English or en español. Reach out to Barbara Perez. Let's connect, and get your free home valuation.
