A County Interested in Its Downtowns…

In many areas in New Jersey, the downtown is a thing of the past, displaced by expanding suburbia and strip malls. But in Warren County, the small town downtown, where proprietors know customer names, sweep the sidewalks and stay open a few minutes late to accommodate the regulars, still exists, and even thrives.

Washington Borough, which sits at the crossroads of Routes 31 and 57, recently incorporated a Special Improvement District (SID), a coalition of business and property owners dedicated to enhancing the viability of the downtown business area, and its individual businesses. This venture, which received support from the Borough council and the Warren County Regional Chamber of Commerce, shows the positive attitude of many businesses in Warren County, which are determined to draw consumers back to traditional shopping areas and fashion their business districts into exciting and profitable consumer destinations. In Washington, parking is ample, everything is within walking distance, and the shopkeepers remember their customer’s names.

Many of the county’s municipalities have no discernable town center, and remain largely rural, which provides opportunities for existing town centers to focus consumer attention their way. Phillipsburg’s South Main Street business district has been revitalized in recent years, driven by enthusiastic business owners, its own local Chamber of Commerce, and with some assistance from the state, which created an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) to draw consumers to the area. Phillipsburg’s UEZ, which provides incentives to business owners, also provides consumers with a reduced tax rate, making the trip downtown not merely more pleasurable, but less costly as well. Phillipsburg, as the hub of southern Warren County, is poised to become a focal point for the region’s growing economic fortunes.

Hackettstown, the northern terminus of Route 57, has seen its downtown revitalization efforts somewhat hampered by the proliferation of big-box stores and malls in adjacent municipalities. But the expanded Hackettstown Mall site, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2005, promises to bring new vitality to the area, and many longtime businesses on Main Street continue to thrive and expand, particularly since the revitalization of North Main Street, which has seen business boom in the last two years.

Belvidere, the county seat, retains much of its Victoria-era charm, as it has remained accessible mostly to the local population. But Belvidere, too, has seen its downtown thrive in recent years, due largely to the regional populace that’s drawn to its shops, stores and restaurants. Belvidere’s foremost festival, Victorian Days, celebrates the small town life that most towns have long since forgotten, but in Belvidere the small town charm of the Victorian era is apparent to shoppers every day.

Warren County planning department efforts and state smart growth initiatives have been attempting to concentrate economic growth in existing town centers, and complementary municipal zoning will assist businesses in bringing customers to Warren County’s downtown business districts. As the local population continues to grow, and as more visitors stream in from adjacent counties, Warren County’s town centers will continue to evolve economically, even as they retain much of their small town charm.

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