November 7, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Mahwah Dress Barn corporate headquarters approved by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Planning Board has approved an application by Inspiration, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dress Barn, Inc., that will allow Dress Barn’s corporate headquarters to move to Macarthur Boulevard. Dress Barn Inc, a subsidiary of Ascena Retail Group, Inc, a national specialty retailer of apparel for women and “tween” girls, acquired the 20-acre former Meldisco/ Footstar Company property in April. The company plans to move its 390 employees from its Suffern, New York location to the Mahwah location. Dress Barn plans to expand the existing 132,708 square foot building. Plans call for a 10,715 square foot addition to the northeast corner of the existing building and construction of a 50,000 free-standing building in an adjacent portion of the existing parking lot that will be connected to the existing building by an enclosed walkway. Jeff Ross, Dress Barn’s assistant executive vice president for store planning and construction, told the board his company was attracted to the Mahwah site by the number of windows in the building and its proximity to the company’s current location, which will avoid an employee turnover as about 40 percent live in New Jersey. Ross advised that the $32 million construction at the site will begin as soon as the company receives its building permits from the township. He said the renovation of the existing building and the construction of the new building will take place at the same time. He predicted that the number of Dress Barn employees would grow to 600 in a year or two, but the new facility will have adequate space for them. Ross also advised that the Mahwah location provides the space to have a mock store on the premises where displays can be set up and photographed to guide their stores around the country. He emphasized, however, that there will be no selling on the premises and no customers will be coming to the new facility. Several professional experts testified about the site plan, including an architect, a professional engineer, a civil engineer, and a professional planner. Their testimony revealed that the first floor of the existing building will be a workplace, the upper level will contain a workplace and executive offices, and the new building to be constructed will contain a workplace and cafeteria. In response to a question from Todd Scherer, the planning board chairman, Ross advised there would be 10 to 12 visitors a day to the site, and a sales meeting involving an additional 80 people will be held on the site once a year. He explained the adequacy of the proposed parking, saying that the temporary visitors to the site would be housed locally in hotels and would not all need a car to come to the site. Some would be shuttled to and from the site while some employees work at home. There will be 648 parking spaces that will be nine feet by 18 feet, and 13 handicapped parking spaces, two of which will be van accessible, according to Kelly. An addi- tional 132 parking spaces could be added if the number of employees exceeds 600 in the future. The company agreed to replace the sidewalk along Macarthur Boulevard with a five-foot wide concrete sidewalk, which will meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The light poles on the property will be lowered from 35 to 30 feet high. Thirty-two trees will be removed from the site. The replacement plans call for 77 new trees to be planted on the site, including 40 different species of shade trees, evergreen trees and shrubs, deciduous shrubs, ornamental trees, ground cover, perennial plants, ornamental grasses, and vines around the building’s entrance and perimeter. Lawn areas will be created around the new building. The board approved one variance for a 14.4-foot high retaining wall in the northeast portion of the property, although six feet is the maximum allowed. That retaining wall will have a four- to six-foot high wrought iron fence on top of it for safety reasons. Waivers were also approved by the board for the deficient number of parking spaces proposed, and for exceeding the maximum slope proposed on less than 1,000 square feet of the 20-acre property. The Center for Food Action in Mahwah is seeking donations for its 2012 Thanksgiving Distribution. The center is asking members of the community to help assure that local families and individuals who are struggling to keep food on their tables are able to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner. Donations of complete meals are being sought. The following items are needed: frozen turkeys, canned vege- CFA seeks donations for Thanksgiving tables, canned yams, canned fruit, gravy, instant potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pasta and sauce, 100 percent fruit juice, cranberry sauce, and supermarket gift cards. Donations may be dropped off at the Lincoln Technical Institute at 70 McKee Drive in Mahwah on Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Nov. 17 from 9 a.m. to noon or at the Center for Food Action at 90 Ridge Road in Mahwah by Nov. 14.