The Township of East Brunswick recently took a major step toward reimagining the 55-year-old Brunswick Square Mall on Route 18. Council members voted unanimously to approve a redevelopment plan for the property, which will allow the building’s owners to breathe new life into the nearly 100-acre site and the 769,000-square-foot building.
Township council members made it clear that they want the property to evolve to meet the needs of modern consumers, who are looking for more services, entertainment, and experiential retail rather than traditional brick-and-mortar stores. While storefronts at the mall have opened and closed over the years, officials, including East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, have reiterated that the redevelopment of Brunswick Square Mall is one small step toward reimagining the entire Route 18 corridor.
In addition to the parcels that comprise the mall itself, the township council also voted to designate adjacent parcels as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment. This could pave the way for the project to receive financial support in the form of tax incentives once a site plan is approved.
According to a report in MyCentralJersey.com, the redevelopment area includes a one-story retail building from the 1960s that houses a pawn shop, a pharmacy, and a cigar store.
Lakewood-based Paramount Realty and Piscataway-based Edgewood Properties acquired the mall in November 2023, when it was 100% leased. However, a statement from Paramount about the acquisition indicated that the firm intended to redevelop the property from the outset.
While Paramount and Edgewood will attempt to reshape the mall, they are not the first developers to reposition a legacy retail asset along the township’s Route 18 corridor.
A report in MyCentralJersey.com said that River Development Equities and Russo Development are currently constructing a 40-acre site in the northern section of the township that was once home to Gap, Office Depot, and The Wiz. That project, known as Vermella East Brunswick, is projected to cost approximately $500 million and will include 765 apartments and stacked townhouses across three phases.
Additionally, Jersey Digs reported in December 2022 that developer Garden Communities was working on the former Wonder Bread site at 110 Tices Lane. That project, called Legacy Place, consists of 520 apartments and townhouses, along with 18,000 square feet of retail space just off Route 18.
