3 stores relocating in The Shops at Rockvale ahead of plans to add apartment buildings

Stores continue to relocate within the Shops at Rockvale as the Route 30 shopping center is set to add new housing as part of a redevelopment of the property.

Construction is expected to begin this week on a new space for Lee Wrangler, which will be moving from its spot near the back of the shopping center to a new, 12,000-square-foot store near the eastern edge of the center. A May opening is expected.

Direct Tools will be moving from its current spot behind Cracker Barrel to a new spot near where Lee Wrangler will be. With the move, the tool retailer will go from a 4,000-square-foot store to one that has 6,200 square feet of space. An April opening is planned.

Also, Rawlings is expected to open in early March in its new, 8,000-square-foot spot behind Olive Garden on the eastern edge of the center. The sporting goods retailer currently has a spot near the center of Rockvale.

In addition, SVN Latus Commercial Realty will be opening an office Feb. 13 in a line of shops behind Cracker Barrel.

New Jersey-based Fernmoor Homes, which bought Rockvale in December 2022, plans to tear down half the shopping center and build apartment buildings containing nearly 500 residential units. The first four apartment buildings will replace the commercial building west of South Willowdale Drive near the current home of the Lee Wrangler store.