Summerhill Square is an approval worth celebrating

Last week’s approval of Summerhill Square, a “lifestyle” shopping center proposed to replace the vacant and dilapidated Meyer’s Shopping Center, marks a victory for East Brunswick officials, residents, merchants and shoppers along Route 18.

The shopping center will not only result in the clearing of a long blighted area, but will bring in fresh new buildings designed to the liking of the local Planning Board, and offer what has been described as a wide variety of new, upscale shops set in an old-fashioned atmosphere. The new development will also bring with it far more revenue in property taxes than is currently collected from the site.

Town officials and residents have long lamented that something needed to be done about this once-vibrant shopping mall. With site plan approval now in hand, this highly anticipated redevelopment appears imminent.