New Jersey's Downtown Developments

There is a saying in the development world: “wherever the nation is going, New Jersey will get there first.” New Jersey is the location of the nation’s first suburban subdivision, some of its earliest shopping malls and its oldest highway networks. Now, the Garden State is once again serving as a model--this time for a new metro-burban hybrid that offers residential buyers the convenience and excitement of urban living, but in a suburban setting.

Concerned about the rising cost of fuel and the impact of their carbon footprints, New Jerseyans are increasingly seeking out developments in small suburban cities that satisfy the emotional craving for urban life, but in an attractive suburban setting.

Because of our suburban nature, New Jersey promises to serve as a model of the metro-burban hybrid. New residential developments--often with retail, office or hotel/conference components--are going up in small cities such as Montclair, Morristown, New Brunswick and Princeton that are restoring street life, creating a sense of vibrancy and spontaneity.

In addition to their denser urban feel, these developments also offer the convenience of urban living--residents have no need, for instance, to drive for a quart of milk--at the same time that they offer a comforting sense of community, which may be rare in a more urban setting.

Stasse & Co. is representing two such developments, the Residences at the Heldrich in New Brunswick and the Residences at Palmer Square in Princeton. Both are in high demand from buyers seeking alternatives to single-family homes, as well as to condominiums in large cities.

The fact that this metro-burban model has proven so successful is no surprise: the division of the landscape into separate regions for living, shopping and working is the result of the growth of suburban living. With increasing highway congestion, prospective buyers are eager to return to a downtown model similar to the bazaars, marketplaces and town centers where human beings have congregated for millennia.

The Residences at Palmer Square is a particularly illustrative example. The design draws its inspiration from Williamsburg, VA, the capital of the budding nation’s most influential colony, where village life--including residences, workshops, pubs and civic amenities--centered around a village green. This idealized vision of a colonial village was at the heart of the Colonial Revival movement that dominated the national aesthetic from the 1880s through the 1940s.

Palmer Square was the dream of zinc magnate Edgar Palmer, who in 1929, inspired by the restoration of colonial Williamsburg, envisioned a similar town center for Princeton, NJ. No sooner had he started work than the stock market crashed. In 1932, however, he realized his dream for a town center anchored by the historic Nassau Inn. The residential part of Palmer’s vision, however, remained largely unfulfilled until the recent construction of the property.

The Residences consists of 100 luxury townhomes and condominiums in the heart of Palmer Square. Residents can walk to the more than 40 shops, restaurants and specialty food stores of Palmer Square, as well as the cultural and intellectual offerings of the Borough of Princeton and of Princeton University, which is located on the opposite side of Nassau Street, Princeton’s main thoroughfare, from Palmer Square. In addition, they can walk to the train to Manhattan.

We are returning to a lifestyle model that Edgar Palmer envisioned more than 80 years ago, a model that has served the needs of humanity from time immemorial. As during the Colonial Revival, which was a period of rapid industrialization, the nation is once again undergoing rapid change, this time to a post-industrial economy. And once again, we are taking our cues on how to live from the past.

Jodi Stasee is president of Pennington, NJ-based Stasse & Co. The views expressed here are the author's own.