A four building commercial flex project totaling 122,000 sq ft is proposed for Hurffville Road in Deptford. The development is planned for the former Tanger’s Feed Store property which has been listed for sale for several years.
The property is directly next to the First Harvest Credit Union property which features two modern office bank office buildings.
The proposed Commercial-Flex project will be reviewed by the Deptford Zoning board on Tuesday May 7th at 6:00 PM. A variance approval is required as the project is not permitted within the property’s current zoning.
“Commercial Flex” refers to projects where a building is developed with several separated interior units, typically with a small office in front of each unit and the remaining space utilized for core business functions.
Tenants are not known until the project is developed and businesses lease space, but examples frequently found in these types of development are small businesses such as plumbing and electrical contractors or even small warehouse storage.
For the Hurffville Road project there will be one center driveway entrance into the property. The project design consists of 4 quadrants, each supporting a building with associated parking.
Three of buildings are 31,200 square feet each with the potential of being divided into 6 interior units. The fourth building would be slightly smaller at 28,600sf (smaller to accommodate the angle of the property) and potentially divided into five interior units.
Each of the units would have a front door entrance and a rear roll-up door.
The “flex” refers to the fact that the spaces can be used for a variety of different businesses as I described previously, but it’s been my experience that as tenants are signed on if they want larger spaces… multiple units could be combined and possibly even interior walls repositioned.
The project does include three water management basins with the largest one being in a wedge shaped corner of the property along Route 41.
With homes located behind the property on a residential street a variety of buffers are shown in the site plan which total 100 feet, as well as additional space for two small retention basins in the rear.
Tanger’s Feed – Deptford
According to photo book “Deptford Township NJ – Images of America” the Charles W Tanger feed store opened its location in 1932, although a 1985 obituary for founder Mr. Tanger placed the opening of the store in 1950.
Mr Tanger was well known in the community even beyond his feed store having served on the different school board and was instrumental in the building of the Deptford High School in 1959!
His wife Judith was also a dedicated member of the community, having been a Gloucester County Committewoman and Co-Chair of the Deptford MUA.
Decades ago before suburbia’s sprawl into Gloucester County, the surrounding area was farmlands for both agriculture and livestock such has hogs… And Tanger’s Feed Store was at the center of it all!
A 2002 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer describes how originally Tangier supplied horse, hog and goat feed for the area’s livestock… but with the changing surroundings, when son Charles R took over the business he added bird seed and dog food for suburbanite’s “wild pets”.
In that same article the store owner says (in 2002) he sold only 30% of the amount of feed he did 15 years prior. “There’s not a farmer here these days, Not a Farmer… I’m about ready to close up shop here – and well, if Walmart wants to build a shopping center I just might sell my plot of land”
42Freeway’s Mark has lived in the local area my entire life, but I moved into Deptford 10 years ago and I visited Tangers feed store for the first time around 2014 to purchase birdseed for our wooded property and at the time it was still open and thriving. Inside the store I remember it being very well stocked with large bags of animal feed, bird seed, dog food and related supplies.
So somewhere in the last 10 years the business did finally close, although I don’t know when that happened.
As I mentioned the large for-sale sign in front of the property has been up for several years, and likely soon one of the area’s last reminders of our farmland past will be gone.
Links and Locations
Proposed Commercial Flex Space (Tanger’s Feed)
1577 Hurfville Rd
Deptford NJ 08096
Deptford Zoning Board Meeting
May 7th, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
Municipal Building,
1011 Cooper Street
Deptford, New Jersey 08096