Route 1 has a positive economic future, according to representatives from the towns that lie along the corridor.
Mayor Frank Gambatese of South Brunswick and Michael Hritz, the director of Community Development in North Brunswick, were among a group of panelists who took part in the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce’s Greater Route One panel on June 23.
“The event is a great way to meet business leaders in the surrounding community and address key issues such as transportation and state level worries,” said Mayor Liz Lempert of Princeton, who was also joined by Deputy Mayor Neil J. Lewis of Plainsboro and Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh of West Windsor.
South Brunswick is the perfect location for business development, according to Gambatese, because of the town’s access to four major highways, its great school system, its top notch Senior Center and Wellness Center and its 26 parks.
“This is the town to come to,” he said.
Gambatese said that 2 million square feet of warehouse space was approved in the past six months, and that all of the vacant space in the 40 million square feet of warehouses across the town is now occupied.
“We are probably one of the busiest townships, not only in Middlesex County but in the greater Central Jersey area, in terms of bringing new business into the township,” Gambatese said.
Hritz mentioned the Main Street North Brunswick project as a boon to the town’s economy, due to Costco and Target anchoring the 212-acre mixed use transit village that will soon feature a Northeast Corridor train station and housing units.
“Clearly, the Route 1 corridor continues to be the driver of our economic success,” Hritz said. “While we actually continue to enjoy positive development and new construction along both Route 130 and Route 27 as well, Route 1 remains what our local Development Committee from the 1980s called ‘the center of America’s richest market.’”
Hritz also noted that Raymour & Flanigan and Staples recently joined North Brunswick, and Walmart will soon expand with a full grocery store. “[I] think it’s notable that our economic success and drive for critical ratables has not been achieved through tax incentives or abatement that would otherwise undercut our critical revenue stream and burden our budget,” Hritz said. “We simply have established a pro-business friendly environment, cultivated relationships, regularly made staff available and supported an efficient land use approval process, which combined have made North Brunswick an attractive and successful place to do business.”