APA-NJ CPAP was invited to New Brunswick by the Esperanza Neighborhood Project and New Brunswick Tomorrow to create a vision plan to enhance the French Street commercial corridor using input and recommendations from community residents, businesses, and shoppers.
The French Streets corridor is located in the heart of New Brunswick near Rutgers University and the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital/University Complex, the train station and other downtown offices. The corridor is about half a mile long and contains mostly small retail businesses that serve a mostly local customer base. The neighborhood has a rich Hispanic/Latin culture and many of the businesses there cater to that market.
The key goals for revitalizing French Street were:
- Beautify and improve Crime,
- Improve pedestrian safety and vehicle flow,
- Improve and create public spaces,
- Reduce crime and loitering, and
- Attract shoppers to the businesses along French Street.
The team conducted a community driven SWOT analysis for the area and extensive outreach and data collection to develop an ambitious set of strategies and recommendations for reaching the goals.
The CPAP Team:
- Dan Bloch, Maser Consulting PA
- Mike Cassidy, NJCDC, Team Leader
- John Duda, MKW Associates
- Joe Herbert, Sailfast Development
- Jessica Schellack, PANY&NJ
- Matt Sprung, Sprung Planning Company
- Xunjing Wu, AECOM