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Listen to this articleLocal officials from the township of East Brunswick are opening a bidding process for developers who would be tasked with overhauling over 30 acres of mostly vacant space running parallel to Route 18 in the latest in a yearslong effort to overhaul the blighted highway corridor.Township officials this week published a request for proposals in search for developers to redo the 30-plus acres that include 18 Center and the nearly vacant Loehmann’s Plaza.
Officials said they plan to make full use of the site’s access to Route 18 and close proximity to the New Jersey Turnpike and turn the redevelopment into a mixed-use transit village.
Transit villages are a special designation given by the New Jersey Department of Transportation after having met certain transportation-related criteria.
Under NJDOT guidelines, transit villages are eligible for public funding, state subsidies and tax incentives, and in the case of East Brunswick, would help fund the town’s third bus terminal along Route 18, aimed at supporting township residents commuting to New York City through nonrail options.
Township proposals call for a third commuter parking garage and mixed-use buildings with retail and commerce on the ground floor and residential units on the second floor and above.
Going through the redevelopment would be a central boulevard with a downtown conducive to outdoor, public-space activities such as sports and live performances. A traffic circle at the town center would connect the redevelopment to Route 18.
