State should punch ticket for transit village

North Brunswick residents should get on board the movement to build a Northeast Corridor Line train station in town.

With the master plan review coming up, Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack and members of the Township Council have named the conversion of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) property to a transit village a top priority.

The future is now in North Brunswick. The redevelopment of slumping industrial sites is key, but township officials seem to have charted a strong, viable course for the years ahead in attracting new businesses to fill the voids, particularly from high-tech industries.

In September, then-Gov. James McGreevey announced North Brunswick would be one of three Central Jersey municipalities to receive “Innovation Zone” designation to spur such tech sector growth. The state would award tax breaks, start-up capital and other considerations to companies to move to the areas and create what he called “innovation triangles” — partnerships between state government, research universities and the private sector. Officials should work to make sure this initiative doesn’t die along with McGreevey’s political career.

North Brunswick has a number of things going for it to encourage its status as a tech sector hub in the years ahead. It’s sandwiched between Rutgers, Princeton, DeVry and other nearby universities that could act as a direct pipeline of intellectual manpower.

A train station will make it more attractive than ever for new businesses, tech or otherwise, through its ability to attract workers from the New York City metro area.

We find it troubling that the state Department of Transportation has given mixed signals about granting transit village designation here because it’s not satisfied with the level of housing development within walking distance of the site. When complete, the 1,900-unit Renaissance development located behind the J&J tract could rival Belmar — which was recently granted transit village status — in population all by itself.