A new ‘Whole Foods Market‘ will open on August 21 in Montgomery Twp, NJ. The supermarket will be the anchor of the new ‘Mongtomery Promenade’ shopping center, located next to Princeton Airport at 1200 State Road (map). The site is less than 1 mile north of the Princeton NJ town line. The new Whole Foods has been anticipated for some time, but the exact opening date was only recently announced. It will become one of about 550 supermarekets in the Austin TX-based Whole Foods Market empire.

The Montgomery Promenade Shopping Center will also feature a number of other chain stores and restaurants, including an ‘Ulta Beauty’, a ‘Panera Bread’, and a ‘Shake Shack’. The 300,000 sq ft development was built on open space and will be a significant traffic generator. The parking lot will provide space for 1,499 cars. Nevertheless, and in contrast to housing developments in the area, there has been no notable opposition to the new construction.

Montgomery Promenade will theoretically be accessible by sidewalk, although the extremely car-dependent environment around Route 206 presents a challenge to pedestrians. The NJ Transit 605 bus also stops nearby, connecting the shopping center to Princeton.

To help manage traffic, a new turn lane has been added to Route 206 adjacent to the new shopping center, and nearby traffic signals have been upgraded. The township has also created an entirely new traffic pattern in the area around Route 206 and Route 518, which will restrict vehicle turning movements and require drivers to use a network of jughandles and feeder roads. These changes are discussed at the township website.

The new Whole Foods will compete with the Shop-Rite on the other side of Route 206 in Mongtomgery Twp, and will potentially create new competitition for McCaffrey’s Supermarket and the Whole Earth Center in Princeton. McCaffrey’s will be supported by new homes constructed in the area around the Princeton Shopping Center in recent years. The Whole Earth Center is also expected to be part of a redevelopment in the Jugtown area, envisaged under Princeton’s Fourth Round Affordable Housing Plan.