First Look At Dramatic New Rt. 18 Development In East Brunswick

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — On Tuesday, East Brunswick Township released never-before-seen renderings of the dramatic — and somewhat controversial — redevelopment that is planned along the Rt. 18 corridor in the northern part of town.

This is 45 acres of what has been previously been declared blighted property along Rt. 18 south, from Ruth Street to Lake Avenue. It is known locally as the former Loehmanns Plaza and Wiz/Gap Plaza, and it was a once-thriving thriving shopping hub.

But for several years now, the strip malls have sat vacant and boarded up; the parking lots empty. East Brunswick Twp. declared the area a redevelopment zone and developer River Development Equities is currently in the process of buying up the land there. The developer plans to convert the site into a "mixed-used transit oriented development" that will feature 800 apartments, ground-floor retail, outdoor dining, a hotel, a tech center, a medical office building plus a new bus terminal, with service to Manhattan. It will all be built around a public park with biking and walking paths. There is even the possibility for East Brunswick to move its municipal headquarters to that area.

"People who live here see the condition of the Rt. 18 corridor. It has changed due to the changing nature of retail," said East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen on Tuesday. "Many of us remember when Loehmanns and the Wiz Plaza were thriving; you actually couldn't find parking spots because they were so busy. But times have changed. Unfortunately, our children don't have those same memories."

"The Rt. 18 corridor, which connects Central New Jersey with the Jersey Shore, is in desperate need of revitalization," Cohen continued.

Some have said that landlords in those shopping plazas raised the retail rents so much to specifically prohibit new businesses from opening, so they could sell the valuable land.

Cohen acknowledged that on Tuesday.

"But can you say that for K-Mart? K-Mart left because the nature of retail has changed and so much has gone online," said Cohen, referring to when the East Brunswick K-Mart closed in 2017. "Commercial business has changed. And yes, we've thought about traffic. But from Long Branch to Somerset, this is the reality of where we live: There is traffic, there is congestion."

The process to convert the property began several years ago, when East Brunswick first got approval from the state Department of Community Affairs to declare the site a redevelopment zone. Councilman James Wendell spearheaded the project. From there, East Brunswick put out a request for proposals from developers, and the town said they chose River because they presented the most "dynamic" vision.

"What you're going to be seeing here is something more similar to what you'd see out West, in Austin, Texas or along the California coast," said Warren Waters, the principal at River Development. "There is going to be emphasis on outdoor space, more time spent outside. We're going to do things that they are doing in other parts of the country."

The housing will consist of one- to three-bedroom multi-level homes, and will be built in three phases. The developer said he envisions attracting not just young people, but older couples "who want to give up the big suburban house." Don't expect to see massive parking garages: The parking will be tiered and hidden behind retail and residential housing, he said.

"One of the things we tried to do with the site is making sure its not overwhelmed by parking — there is very little surface parking," he said. "It's two- or three-level parking structures circled by retail and residential."

When will all this start? The developer plans to finish buying the property within the next three months and demolition should begin this summer, according to Michael Hughes, the director of the East Brunswick Redevelopment Agency, which is leading the project. Opening the transit hub/bus stop will be "our first priority," he said.

"A lot of the retail structure in East Brunswick is outdated and quality merchants are not going to come into outdated structures," said Hughes.

Initial Patch report on this project: East Brunswick Plans Massive Development Project Along Rt. 18 (January 2020)

What Will Replace The East Brunswick Kmart? (December 2017)