Agreed. The "Town Center" is just a pipe dream that has been going on for many years and will never happen. Perhaps some of these paved spaces could be converted into a different "Town Center" concept, such as found in Williamsburg, VA, Myrtle Beach, SC and Baton Rouge, LA, to cite a few. These are attractive mixtures of various types of housing, plus retail shops and restaurants.

That is a great idea. Keep the businesses that are already there as the base for the retail, then add the apartments, parking, etc.

It would save the Valley Road/206 area and make great use of a vacant area.

There's a Chipotle in Bridgewater. Make it a Qdoba instead.

Amen. We keep building and letting the empty storefronts sit vacant. That KMart plaza is a death spot. Nothing is in there and I don't see anyone wanting to if they can build a new strip mall anywhere. That area is tough as it is still 1 lane.

"open up a shop"??? as if it was some pop and mom's quiet little gathering hole.
I guess youre not a resident of the area. That space was too small, they would be too noisy, and the traffic thru the neighborhood would be awful. they refused to dim lighting, make signs smaller and when confronted with a poor drainage plan that would not flood my street they resigned. no pitchforks, just reasonable disagreement and an ability to follow the tenents of our laws. BTW... i hear Stewarts is coming , so its not all that bad news. We can bring our pitchforks and chow down on floats and fries. see you there

Sammy- I do live in Hillsborough and I do know there was formerly a drive up eatery there beforehand, so the complaints are hypocritical at best.
You all want these big chains and stores and saying a filled lot is better than an empty lot, yet start nit-picking on what you want there. You are objecting to a Sonic yet ok with a Stewarts? Sorry but again this is hypocrisy showing it's ugly head here again. Want big city stores and chains yet whine when you lose small town charm in the process.

Sammy-- how can you say they would be too loud and the traffic thru the neighborhood would be awful. You cannot predict that. The site was on Route 206 and there was no reason to leave that road to travel unless you are a local looking to avoid the traffic. It was not on a major road so that is an unfair statement. And as for the noise.... I guess you know what will happen in the future.

I would prefer a Stewarts over Sonic.

That last line hits the nail on the head. This is why big chains won't come and smaller business that do open struggle in Hillsborough. The ordinances governing these rules are archaic and hinder business but still supported by the locals because they do not want to make Hillsborough "feel like a city." Look at the shops in the strip mall by the old K-Mart. The storefronts are not facing the street and the signs for the businesses are so small I barely notice them driving on 206. This is why businesses in that mall have continued to struggle and bigger chains do not want any part of it.
If everyone wants these nationwide chains you have to put up with the consequences such as noise, traffic (like 206 is a quiet street) and other issues that might come up. If you do not then all these suggestions are just pie in the sky.

@ GT - You hit the nail on the head. We have systemic problems at the local government level and until they change, things will not get better.

I would like a Stewart's.

annonyingcat is correct. and for those who thought Sonic was a good idea ...1) when they where demolishing the building, erecting very tall well lit signs(PLURAL) , 3) building a new building with a larger parking area, causing flooding 4) parking area equipped with more lights, a loud continuous sound system , 5) and Greg / Mark , the school will empty and HS children of driving age will use my neighborhood for a cut thru, avoiding lights and traffic on 206.

Stewarts, typically is a family trip, not a teen hangout. the building remains. and the owners , rumor has , are from town. dont be a stewie hater

Sammy/Annoyingcat - And there is a reason why Stewarts has not been there in a long time. Have you been to any Stewarts locations in a while? They are all dead and/or closed. Why invite a dying business into town so it would be shuttered within the next couple of years anyways?
Also the reasons given for not wanting Sonic are laughable: 1) There are plenty of well lit signs in Hillsborough already. Plus that plot of land is zoned for commercial so if you live nearby you have to figure that a business like that could move in at any time. Don't act shocked when it does. 2) don't know where your second reason went 3) that entire area is pretty low lying and prone to floods already 4) Please see number 1 5) You have to figure that when living near a school that traffic from it may come by your area. Do you also own the street and others not allowed to use it?

The Sonic application had major variance requests and their business style proved ultimately unsuitable for the location.
http://hillsboroughnjjournal.blogspot.com/2012/01/sonic-epilogue.html

If Stewarts is perceived as being "neighborly", they have a better chance of success. Plus, we won't have to drive so far.

S.G. - The variances they asked for would not be much different than the ones that were filed by the stores in the Lowe's / Kohl's shopping complex (signs, use of land, etc) if you compared the two.
Also as for "unsuitable for their business," it only became that way after a strip of the land was declared a wetland by the NJDEP in a visit to the site in December of 2010 and a later visit in Feb of 2011 confirmed that. The funny thing is that the NJDEP also visited the site in Sept of 2010 and found NO WETLANDS. Coincidence?
Now that it seems like people want Stewarts in that plot instead, I wonder if the fact that part of the site is a "wetland" will be an issue for them as it was for Sonic......

Oh BTW here is the article about the NJDEP visits here including the Sept 2010 where they initially found no wetlands existed on the site
http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/wetlands-prompts-withdrawal-of-sonic-application

I'm not trying to come down on either side of this debate, but I agree that it is no coincidence that DEP was didn't see wetlands in September, but did in December and February. If you remember, we had a drought during the summer of 2010 and it would have been difficult to observe/delineate a wetland during such dry conditions. It is hard to tell what soils have poor drainage when there is no soil moisture to observe. Once some rain/snow falls, it is easier to see that the land is not well drained and has wetland type soils.

From what I see from the website, the Montgomery Promenade will be anchored by a Super Stop & Shop which we already have here in Hillsborough.
However you are right about the big box stores not coming to Hillsborough. The arcahic laws we have here and continued opposition to any new commercial development by the local populace will prevent that. The companies want to put their store in a high visibility and high traffic area to attract customers, while residents would love for these stores to come, but only in remote locations that could not support these stores anyways. There is plenty in Hillsborough already and let's better support the businesses we already have before more flee to greener pastures.

Montgomery Promenade has been proposed about as long as the 206 Bypass. Also, Montgomery residents perceive themselves as more Princeton-type-people and tend to go there for shopping.