Apartments, dining, entertainment: These Central Jersey towns are booming with development

To those of us who live here, Central Jersey is the center of the universe.

But in recent years, some of our towns have become destinations known across the tristate area, like Somerville's food scene, Frenchtown's art prowess, Lambertville's riverfront charm, Metuchen's happening downtown and Westfield's shopping mecca.

However, there's more to come. Some Central Jersey towns are experiencing a renaissance thanks to new luxury residences, transportation services and entertainment epicenters.

Here are the towns that are booming with development in 2024.

Bound Brook

A decade ago, downtown Bound Brook was marked with strip clubs, dive bars, empty stores, vacant lots and unattractive industrial properties. Released county jail inmates were often dropped off at the Bound Brook Hotel with a few bucks.

There wasn’t a glint of today’s construction bustle, no rising walls marked by cheery developers’ signs or luxury apartments with amenities like yoga rooms and co-working spaces.

That’s partly because the borough, literally bound by brooks including the Raritan River and Green Brook, regularly flooded until 2016 when the Green Brook Flood Control Project was completed. Now walls and dikes protect Bound Brook from rising waters.

Almost three-quarters of downtown properties are under development or have completed development. Four high-end apartment buildings, ranging from about 60 to 240 units, have been built since 2014.

More: How Hispanics have revived Bound Brook from a dead downtown to a vibrant community

More may be completed by next fall, all with thousands of square feet of retail space on the ground floors. By that time, Bound Brook will have 40,000 more retail square footage and 700 new apartments.

In coming years, Hamilton Street from Main Street to Second Street will become a pedestrian plaza. The borough received a $1 million federal grant administered by the New Jersey Department of Transportation in partnership with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority to undertake the project.

Bound Brook is looking at the success that Somerville experienced transforming a block of Division Street from Main Street toward the train station into a pedestrian plaza.

The downtown development is partly fueled by the prospect of one-seat rides to Manhattan on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line with the construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

More: Could NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line commuters get full direct service to New York Penn?

Flemington

As the county seat, Flemington was once the flourishing center of Hunterdon, home to Liberty Village, the nation's first outlet mall, and the historic Union Hotel, which was the social hub of the county for generations.But, as the restaurant at the Union Hotel went into foreclosure in 2008 and nearly all of the stores in Liberty Village closed as shopping patterns changed, Flemington's fortunes began to decline as commercial development shifted to Raritan Township which surrounds the borough.

Now, Flemington is on the comeback trail and carving its identity again as the center of Hunterdon County and a destination in Central Jersey. Stangl Road has become an entertainment destination with a brewery, distillery, farmers market, regular events including a jazz festival and food festivals and lots of hip shops.

The Union Hotel and Liberty Village are also enjoying a new life.

'Main Street is having a renaissance': Shops, restaurants flocking to Flemington

The Union Hotel is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation to preserve the hotel’s historic façade and create a 100-room boutique hotel. Two restaurants with liquor licenses, an outdoor courtyard with retail on the first floor and 206 apartments are also part of the Courthouse Square project.

Plus, Main Street will soon feel more connected to Stangl Road as 111 townhomes are planned for the Liberty Village site.

The project is expected to generate a "massive increase" in revenue for the borough, said developer George Vallone, president of Hoboken Brownstone Co. He said the development could produce "tens of millions a year" in revenue for Flemington.

Vallone has also pledged to develop a 7,500-square-foot park with two playgrounds on Brown Street. He said he will install $250,000 of playground equipment in the park.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is creating a new identity other than the home of Rutgers University and Johnson & Johnson.The city is becoming a dynamic center of medical research and investment in residential real estate is booming.

Investment in downtown New Brunswick's real estate market is continuing with the second phase of the New Jersey Health + Life Science Exchange, or HELIX, a $732 million project on four acres opposite the train station.

In recent years, New Brunswick has experienced public and private real estate investment totaling nearly $3 billion, with an additional $1 billion in the pipeline.

HELIX, to be built in three phases, will be the largest investment in life sciences and medical education in New Jersey.

H-1, the first phase of HELIX, is under construction and will be 574,000 square feet that includes the New Jersey Innovation HUB, the new home of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a Rutgers translational research facility equipped with a variety of labs.

Hub City happenings: New Brunswick Train Station makeover project clears early hurdle

The Liv, a 23-story apartment building with 407 apartments, is proposed to be built at the site of the New Brunswick Elks Club at 40 Livingston Ave.

The high-rise will contain a seven-level parking deck with 365 spaces. On the seventh floor will be a swimming pool, fitness center, a yoga room and club room. There will also be a rooftop deck and club room penthouse.

The train station at the center of New Brunswick is undergoing extensive renovations. The project will bring modernization to the westbound and eastbound platforms, pedestrian transfer passages, the existing tunnel beneath the tracks, site work and landscaping, new waiting areas entrance signage and other improvements to boost the commuting experience to New York City.

South Amboy

South Amboy is taking advantage of its location on the Raritan Bay in its push to attract residential investment.Leading the charge is the long-awaited ferry service launched in October which links South Amboy with midtown Manhattan.

The ferry service connects South Amboy to Manhattan in little over an hour, enhancing the town's identity as a transit village with a train station on NJ Transit's Jersey Coast Line.

The latest: South Amboy ferry gets another federal financial boost

That long-awaited link to New York City and its designation as a transit village also fueled residential growth that many thought would never happen in the small blue-collar town.

Thousands of residential units are being built on South Amboy's waterfront that have turned a depressing industrial area into an attractive destination.

Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ towns booming with development in 2024