DUI Lawyers in Deptford, NJ

Empty for two years, the large Deptford “Bed, Bath and Beyond” shopping center will soon have new life with SEVEN new national tenants already signed on for a full redevelopment of the center, which will also include two new front “pad” sites.

And 42Freeway has the Architect’s building front facade rendering.

The official Deptford Township Facebook page made the amazing announcement, listing the seven tenants that are already signed on (Facebook):

And if you can believe this… three of the tenants are expected to be open this winter; Aldi, Tractor Supply and Blinds-To-Go!

Honestly any one of these tenants is a big story in the 42Freeway universe, let alone seven!

Then when you factor in where we are in today’s retail world with a significant amount of consumer dollars going towards online shopping… well simply a development project like this in 2025 is not only incredible… its somewhat unheard of.

Deptford and the surrounding communities absolutely have a reason to be excited as this is clearly one of the best outcomes we all could have expected for the large shopping center which has been unused for two years.

Deptford Town Center

Located in the heart of Deptford’s thriving retail corridor, the Deptford Town Center is located directly across from the Deptford Mall… and is positioned on Deptford Center Road which connects on each end to two major South Jersey freeways; Routes 42 and 55.

It was originally developed to house all of the Bed, Bath and Beyond brands, with four large stores in the center. BBB and the spin-off Christmas Trees Shops closed in bankruptcy, leaving the center empty.

But the Deptford shopping center was still an incredibly attractive facility, with the location providing incredibly easy access for all of South Jersey and even Philadelphia. It’s a somewhat well-known fact that many Philadelphia residents will head over to “Jersey” to shop at our more extensive assortment of stores.

Deptford is an especially attractive shopping destination being anchored by the popular Deptford Mall, and surrounded by eight power-centers offering an unequalled array of National (and local) retailers all within a 2-mile square area.

This exciting new project is being developed by MSP Development, who are based out of the Pittsburgh area.

Taking on the project is MSP Development, whose owner Mitchol Pappan is a third generation developer who under his guidance the firm now has real estate holdings for single-tenant commercial buildings and multi tenant strip centers in SIX states.

Another key player in bringing this project to fruition is Jason Bock of MSC Realty, who through his years of experience in the commercial real estate industry was able to bring all 7 tenants together… and finalize the deal with MSP Development to acquire the property and lead the redevelopment effort.

Deptford Mayor Paul Medany and the Economic Development lead Don Banks have been working with MSP and MSC for months to help bring the project to settlement.. and development. I chatted briefly with Mayor Medany who said the town is beyond excited for the project, and to have MSP Development leading the effort.

Deptford: Seven National Tenants

I think any of us locals would’ve been happy to see just one new tenant sign on “it’s a start”. Rumors of Aldi Grocery being part of the project had been circulating for most of 2025, and that alone would have been an exciting win for the community.

But I don’t think anyone expected the entire center to have tenants lined up! Seven, to be exact.

I had actually caught wind of this project several weeks ago and found myself chatting with Jason recently. I had independently learned details of the tenants and the effort that was about to be announced, but I agreed to hold off until the final property sale was completed.

Jason was kind enough to provide the building rendering that I share with readers, as well as a few other details of the project.

So as mentioned there are 7 tenants signed on for the redevelopment effort and they will not only fill the existing large multi tenant building, this project will also include two smaller pad sites which will be developed at a later date.

Six of the seven tenants are completely new to the Deptford marketplace. Blinds-To-Go has a store in Deptford on Route 41, but it would appear this new store location is larger and offers better customer access.

From left to right in the main building are Blinds To Go, Nordstrom Rack, First Watch Restaurant, ALDI Grocery and taking over the largest portion of the building (on the right side) will be a a new Tractor Supply.

This project will also feature aspects of new buildings with two new “pad” sites being developed at the front of the parking lot closer to the roadway. Those buildings will be home to a new Chase Bank and an Aspen Dental. It is expected that they head to the Deptford Planning Board for a hearing (and approval) over the summer.

The existing large building is just over 100,000 square feet, and when the two pad site buildings are completed the project will total 108,000sf.

The entire building is only about a dozen years old so the development effort will reuse as much of the existing already developed builing as possible.

And by doing so more than half of the building is expected to be reopened for this winter’s holiday season! Aldi, Tractor Supply and Blinds-To-Go.

With Nordstrom Rack and First Watch also signed on for the main building, they will likely soon follow after.

This is breaking news and I’ll have more updates shortly

Links and Location

Deptford Town Center1450 Clements Bridge RoadDeptford New Jersey

Sprouts Farmers Market is developing 2 new locations in the core 42Freeway area, with West Deptford’s building exterior mostly completed, and Washington Township has been fully approved by the County, with construction expected to start soon.

Sprouts Farmers Market is a healthy grocery store which is in the same category as Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, but Sprouts of course does things their own way!

Sprouts offers a full healthy supermarket shopping experience in a reasonably sized footprint, but is still able to include deli, seafood and meat counters. Fresh Sushi is also available.

With area locations already open in Marlton and Haddon Township, the company has two additional projects under development in Gloucester County. In West Deptford the core building exterior is developed and in Washington Township, the County gave their final approval on the project… so it seemed like a good time for an update.

Both projects are all new construction grocery stores at around 23,000 square feet.

Sprouts Farmers Market – West Deptford

Approved just a year ago, the West Deptford Sprouts development is moving quickly at the Southwood Shopping Center on Mantua Pike (Rt 45) in West Deptford.

Sprouts is being developed in a space which was previously an ALDI grocery store. The ALDI building was demolished ahead of the construction of this all new grocery store building.

The Sprouts footprint is larger than the prior building, so it will extend further out in front of the shopping center.

In my visit yesterday, I see that basically the exterior of the main building is done except for the signage. All of the walls, roof and HVAC systems appear to be in place.

Additionally, all the building exterior decorative aspects are completed including the exterior stone design work, the front entrance facade, as well as a larger overhead awning.

I was unable to see inside the store to get a look at how the interior was progressing.

As part of this project the owners of the extended Southwood Shopping Center are also remodeling the front facades of the center, which also seems significantly completed.

The new design for the shopping center presents a more modern and attractive design and should be a boost to all of the tenants (Vantage Commercial – Southwood Leasing)

Likely what everybody wants to know is, when will the West Deptford Sprouts location open? While it’s still too early to lock in a date, industry contacts tell me that they are still holding on to their Late Spring estimated opening.

That being said at this point I do not see any job postings listed yet.

Sprouts Farmers Market – Washington Township

The very short summary for Washington Township Sprouts is that Gloucester County has officially approved the project (as of two weeks ago), the subcontractor construction bids are out for quotes, and industry professionals are telling me construction is expected to start this Spring.

More details:

Sprouts is also developing a Gloucester County location on Egg Harbor Road in Washington Township. That project was first announced back in March of 2023, about seven months before being presented at the Zoning board.

In October of 2023, the core Sprouts development plan was approved by Washington Township, with a second review a few months later focused on signage.

That being said in the 18 months since that initial Washington Township approval, the development has not started.

As I chronicled in my December 2024 update, because the Washington Township property sits along Gloucester County roadways (Egg Harbor and Hurffville-Grenloch), Gloucester County gets to review and approve the project for aspects that may impact County owned infrastructure.

Key elements that required extensive design and collaboration between the County and the developer where the access points in and out of the shopping center to the County Roads (which includes changes to the traffic signal at Salina Road), as well as a proposed use of the county underground water management systems.

As mentioned in the intro here, two weeks ago Gloucester County approved the project… which also includes a smaller attached retail space which I believe does not currently have a tenant signed on yet. (Available: 6,400sf with room for drive-thru. CBRE)

With that approval in hand, the development team is wasting no time and has immediately put the subcontractor items out to bid (plumbing, landscaping, etc.)

Additionally, industry professionals tell me that the goal is to “break ground” this Spring, possibly as early as April.

I’ve also learned that the project will be under development through the rest of 2025 with opening date sometime in the first half of 2026.… but it’s likely too early to pinpoint the Washington Twp opening more than that.

Links and Location

Sprouts Farmers Market West Deptford875 Mantua PikeWest Deptford NJ

Sprouts Farmers Market Washington Township288 Egg Harbor RoadWashington Township NJ 08080

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

The fire department celebrates graduates of the Gloucester County Fire Academy who are now active firefighters in the community.

The Communication Solutions Group, Community Contributor

(Gerardo Colon-Rodriguez)

(Michael Claridades)

West Deptford residents Michael Claridades, Gerardo Colon-Rodriguez and Joie Alzado-Hudak recently graduated from Gloucester County Fire Academy with their Firefighter I certificate. This certification means they are now active firefighters and can fight fires inside buildings.

Claridades and Colon-Rodriguez heard about volunteer opportunities at the West Deptford Fire Department on Facebook.

“I’ve lived in West Deptford for about five years. When I saw an ad on Facebook, I decided that this was the best time in my life to pursue this opportunity,” said Claridades.

Once the new recruits signed up to volunteer, they dove right into training with the department and enrolled in the fire academy.

"The training tested both mental fortitude and physical fitness," said Claridades. “We had a mix of classroom lectures and hands-on scenarios, which provided a strong foundation.”

Find out what's happening in West Deptfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

No prior experience is required to join the fire department. It provides classes at the fire academy, training at the station and protective gear at no cost to volunteers.

“We learn a lot training but seeing everything come together in real-time at an emergency is an amazing experience,” said Colon-Rodriguez.

Claridades added, “The learning never stops and I'm eager to continue growing in this role."

Both Claridades and Colon-Rodriguez agree the camaraderie at West Deptford Fire Department is one of the best parts of volunteering.

"We are a family. We joke around and have fun, but we also push each other to be our best," said Claridades.

Colon-Rodriguez added, "I felt welcome from day one."

The West Deptford Fire Department continues to encourage individuals who are interested in serving their community to volunteer. For more information or ways to volunteer, visit www.westdeptfordfirefighter.org.