NJ TRANSIT PROMOTES LOCAL AND REGIONAL GROWTH WITH TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THROUGHOUT NJ

NJ TRANSIT Leveraging Stations, Services and Property to Help Local Communities with Neighborhood and Business Development

NEWARK NJ – NJ TRANSIT has renewed its focus on Transit Oriented Developments(TOD), and is encouraging its local community partners interested in new development to learn more about opportunities with the agency. 

“NJ TRANSIT is committed to Transit Oriented Development, which combines quality housing and robust shopping and dining with the advantage of easy access to rail and bus service to other communities,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett.  “We encourage any local government interested in sustainable and environmentally sensitive growth to reach out to NJ TRANSIT about opportunities to work together in a mutually beneficial partnership.’’

Under Corbett and with the support of NJ Department of Transportation Commissioner and Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, NJ TRANSIT is working to ensure the communities it serves get the most out of mass transit. By tyideveng mixed use developments to the organization’s rail stations and bus lines via transit oriented development, municipalities can enhance their residents’ quality of life by providing not just local neighborhood amenities but easy access via NJ TRANSIT to the incredible resources available in the Garden State.

In October 2018, The Link at Aberdeen Station was officially opened to the public, with a combination of apartments, stores, restaurants and walkable access to the Aberdeen-Matawan Station. The project was a partnership between NJ TRANSIT, Aberdeen Township and the developer BNE. The result has been widely hailed as an excellent example of a modern community that provides a high quality of life at home with access to amenities throughout the state via mass transit. 

In April 2019, the Borough of Matawan announced an exciting new mixed-use development adjacent to the Aberdeen-Matawan Rail Station. The development, which will be on seven acres of NJ TRANSIT-owned land along the New Jersey Coast Line, is part of an extensive transit-oriented development project spearheaded by Matawan since 2001. A call for developers to express their interest went out in May.

Soon after, the City of Bayonne and NJ TRANSIT announced on June 25^th a collaboration to create an innovative new mixed-use development along the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR). The development is slated to be built on four and a half acres of NJ TRANSIT owned land adjacent to the Bayonne 34th Street Station. 

Last month, NJ TRANSIT introduced a partnership with Somerset Development LLC to create a vibrant, new mixed-use Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project through a sale and lease agreement with the developer for land adjacent to the Somerville Train Station with access to the borough’s revitalized and bustling downtown.  In addition to the new neighborhood, the developers will construct a new road that will connect State Route 206 with the rail station to provide easier access to mass transit for the a significant portion of western Somerset County.

NJ TRANSIT has identified additional opportunities for similar projects in Bordentown, Bound Brook, Camden, Hoboken, Trenton, and other communities throughout the Garden State. Municipal leaders interested in learning more about how NJ TRANSIT can support their community with Transit Oriented Development should contact Sean Massey, Director of Transit Oriented Development, at [email protected]. 

To promote transit oriented development opportunities on and near NJ TRANSIT properties, NJ TRANSIT has developed a website to host project documents for interested bidders and members of the community to access.  The website, at https://www.njtransitdevelopment.com/, launched in May with the Matawan project’s Request for Qualifications. Interested developers and builders should visit the site regularly as it will be the prime location for posting of upcoming opportunities to bid on NJ TRANSIT-related development projects.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 251 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.