Little Acme Gets New Tenant

After roughly six years sitting empty on Chester Avenue, the “Little Acme” will soon have a new tenant.

Deputy Mayor Greg Gallo announced Monday night that an architectural firm owned by Shirley Hill, wife of former Commerce Bank CEO Vernon Hill, will be taking up a third of the former supermarket space.

Gallo didn’t have many specifics, but said he expects the business—which is renting the space from Moorestown Friends School—to open its doors in the very near future. The firm is in the midst of asbestos remediation, and will soon undertake some interior and exterior renovations.

“I think it’s going to be quick. I’ve seen them out there,” he said.

Gallo said the name of the business was “InterArch,” but was not sure of the spelling. An Internet search revealed Shirley Hill’s affiliation with a Mount Laurel-based architectural firm named InterArch.

According to Gallo, approximately two-thirds of the building will remain unoccupied, at least initially, leaving the potential for the firm to expand its office space or the addition of a retail business down the line.

Earlier this year, members of the township’s Economic Development Advisory Committee, including Gallo, reported that business representatives expressed interest in opening a farmer’s market in the building.

Asked for his opinion of what Moorestown Friends—which purchased the building shortly after Acme closed—might choose to do with it, Gallo said, “I think they’re going to be opportunistic with it.

“We’re just delighted we have a professional organization coming in … Hopefully this will be the start of some new vitality in there.”