Highland Park, New Jersey
A Small Town With Big Plans
A charming and walkable city armed with a sustainable focus moving forward
Highland Park, New Jersey, is a small town with big ambitions. Located in Middlesex County, this borough stands out for its walkable downtown, vibrant arts scene, and cultural diversity. With a population of 15,000, Highland Park is ready for change, and plans are underway to blend its small-town charm with innovative redevelopment projects that promise to boost economic growth while prioritizing sustainability.
“We attract a lot of attention,” describes Mayor Elsie Foster. “Walkability is a big thing for us, and while we’re working on redesigning and growing our downtown, we want to make sure that Highland Park still sustains the small-town charms that it currently has.”
Destination Downtown
At the heart of Highland Park’s plans is the redevelopment of its downtown core, in partnership with Garden Homes. This signature project will transform the downtown with a mixed-use building featuring a clever combination of apartments, commercial space and a sizable indoor/outdoor public plaza and community space. The single building has been broken down into a series of distinct architectural elements so that it feels approachable and fits into the surrounding area. “We have been working for more than 25 years on developing our downtown,” affirms Mayor Foster. “We recently shared our vision along with renderings that were developed collaboratively with our development partner and the Borough is now ready to transform our downtown area.”
Rebecca Hersh, Director of Main Street Highland Park, emphasizes the importance of creating spaces that attract foot traffic. “Our downtown has so much great potential, and from the perspective of the downtown businesses, a lot of them say that what they really need is more people walking around the town,” she says.
A centerpiece of this revitalization is the creation of a dedicated public pedestrian plaza, a $1 million investment that will serve as a community hub. Hersh expands, “We’ve been using an old municipal parking lot for things like our farmers market, tree lighting, outdoor concerts, and other community events. It will be wonderful to work with the borough to create a more well-designed public space that will meet all of the needs of the community. We’re really excited.”
Councilman Matt Hale, who chairs the economic development committee, notes that creating spaces where people can gather will drive economic growth and enhance Highland Park’s small-town appeal. “The way you get more people going into businesses is you give them a place to go to bed, right next to the place they want to go to dinner,” he explains. “Our businesses are going to expand and grow, and we’ll see new offerings when there’s a new set of folks living right downtown.”
Attracting Businesses
Highland Park’s efforts to boost its downtown are already yielding results, demonstrated by the recently opened Super Fresh grocery store. Economic Development Director Teri Jover explains, “That’s a really good example of the ‘all hands on deck’ approach we’re taking to our revitalization. When we learned that the former tenant was leaving, we jumped in. We created a redevelopment plan to incentivize the creation of a grocery store, and they put millions of dollars into that store that’s now open. That’s the type of approach we’re taking throughout the downtown area.”
The community has also welcomed a wave of new restaurants and businesses. Long-time favorite Highland Pizza was recently reinvented and opened as DeeDee Pizza, while kosher restaurant Giddys has quickly become a local hotspot. Additionally, Greek market Ellinikon Agora, one of the community’s first redevelopment projects, showcases how thoughtful design can help to create enduring community spaces.
“It was a direct result of a redevelopment agreement that we went into with the property owner, and I think it’s a good example of the role we played in making that space happen,” says Jover. “We’re not taking a passive role. We actively work with developers and businesses to create projects that are beneficial for the entire community.”
Balancing Growth
When it comes to growth, Highland Park’s approach is anything but cookie-cutter. While affordable housing and green building practices are priorities, the most important is preserving the boroughs small-town sense of place. “We’ve got a great team that can help think outside the box, in ways that are not the normal way of doing things,” Hale says. “In Highland Park we think creatively and help you get to the finish line.”
Although downtown redevelopment remains a focal point, Highland Park is also targeting improvements in other parts of the borough. Hale mentions the Woodbridge Avenue corridor, an area that has historically felt disconnected from the rest of town. He expands, “We were fortunate enough to get something called a Neighborhood Preservation Program grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. It’s a five-year grant of $125,000 a year.”
Thanks to this funding, Highland Park is investing in this corridor to revitalize businesses and improve connectivity. Part of the effort includes the hiring of a company called Storefront Mastery. “They help businesses identify how to make the look and feel of the front of their business more attractive. We’ve got a couple places that have taken advantage of this consulting service to upgrade their awnings and facades and we have been able to offer these businesses grants to help them cover the costs,” Hale reports.
Highland Park is also partnering with the county and the New Jersey Department of Transportation on infrastructure projects, including road improvements for Woodbridge Avenue and a “road diet” for Upper Raritan Avenue – all part of the Borough’s ongoing Safe Walking and Cycling initiatives to enhance accessibility and encourage bike traffic throughout the community. Hale highlights, “The process that we’ve been working on downtown, of doing little developments that lead to big things, is what we’re hoping to have happened up on Woodbridge and Upper Raritan Avenues as well.”
Housing as a Catalyst
“We absolutely think that housing is essential to our economic development efforts, because it’s going to bring the people who are going to shop in the shops and eat in the restaurants and drive the expansion of Highland Park in new and different ways,” remarks Hale. Affordable housing is a priority, and Highland Park is planning to integrate it in all new developments.
Hale outlines, “Our approach is that affordable housing should be right in the middle of market-rate housing, and you shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two. We do that because we recognize the importance of bringing a diverse mix of people into Highland Park.”
The borough’s location makes it ideal for young professionals and couples, including those commuting to cities like New York and Philadelphia. It’s also an appealing option for graduate students and families, particularly PhD students.
“At one point, we had more graduate students in Highland Park than kindergarteners,” Hale comments. Highland Park is also targeting retirees looking to downsize but wanting to remain close to world-class healthcare facilities in New Brunswick. “We think that there’s a real market for both ends of the spectrum,” he says.
Investing in Infrastructure
As new projects come to life, Mayor Foster says Highland Park is aware of the importance of planning for essential services. “We have been working very carefully to make sure that the borough’s utilities and services are ready and available to support new development. From services such as fire and police, to public spaces and stormwater management, we have taken all of those into consideration to make sure the borough will be ready to accommodate all of our new residents,” she reports.
The borough has recently acquired a new fire engine, and a first aid ambulance, and recently secured a competitive federal grant to assist with putting more police officers on the streets. “We are taking quite a comprehensive look, as we look at our redevelopment goals, and as we work with our developer partners to put in the infrastructure that will be needed to make all of this happen,” Foster asserts.
Jover adds that Highland Park is proactively upgrading essential infrastructure to meet future needs. The borough owns its own water and sewer systems and manages it with the support of an experienced operations management team to identify upgrades and maintenance requirements. “We, like most other systems in New Jersey and the United States, are faced with aging infrastructure and we are committed to proactive reinvestment and creative funding approaches,” she states.
Laying a Foundation for Success
Highland Park’s progress is powered by its dedicated residents and strong community partnerships. Jover underscores the valued collaborations with local boards and commissions, including the Arts Commission, Sustainable Highland Park, the Environmental Commission, and the Human Relations Commission.
“We have volunteers within our community that serve through their roles on these boards and commissions to really advance all of the initiatives that make our town special. We’re really fortunate to have tremendous talent to draw from,” she touts.
As for what lies ahead, Mayor Foster says, “Highland Park’s vision for the next 18 months focuses on expanding our sustainable, walkable community through infrastructure improvements, safer streets, and expanded green spaces.”
With projects like downtown redevelopment, road enhancements, and new pocket parks funded by a creative combination of state and county grants, the borough is creating a safer, more vibrant environment for residents while preserving the charming ambience that makes it so exceptional.
AT A GLANCE
Highland Park, New Jersey
What: A vibrant and walkable community with exciting redevelopment on the horizon
Where: Middlesex County, New Jersey
Website: www.hpboro.com; mainstreethp.org
PREFERRED VENDORS
LRK – www.lrk.com
LRK is a nationally recognized full-service architectural, planning, and interior design firm intent on understanding the needs of clients and providing creative and innovative design solutions that respond specifically to those needs. Every project we undertake starts and ends the same way: We listen.