Welcome to Hillsborough: Home of the Vacant Storefronts, Houses for Sale, and High Taxes

At least that’s how it seems to me. Well, on Dec. 28, I found out after checking my mailbox, another soon-to-be former landmark store, Learning Express, is going out of business after nine years. Although I’ve seen patrons in the store every time I’ve shopped there, I guess sales have declined to the point that they can no longer stay in business. It’s sad.

Now who knows if Kmart on Route 206 will remain open. Will it look like the other empty, space-for-rent strip malls where Pathmark and Cost Cutters used to be, too, in time?

And what kills me is, when we get a new business to take the space of an old one, like where Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse used to be, what do we get? A bank. A bank. Like this town needs another bank. Why? With all of the unemployment and empty houses up for sale, who exactly has money to put in a bank?

Residents have said how nice it would be if we got a Whole Foods or a good steakhouse like Ruth’s Chris in Hillsborough. Really, our dining options in the bounds of town are very few. Our choices are mainly pizza and fast food. And while Shop Rite is nice, it’s over crowded and some people want more organic and fresh food choices without driving to Wegmans in Bridgewater. Yes, I know there’s Stop & Shop, but they have what Shop Rite’s got. Nothing really different.

We’d love a Trader Joe’s or a Retro Fitness. What about a pool hall? A large bakery where everything made doesn’t taste like it’s made out of the same dough? Some suggest a JC Penney or a seafood market. This is our business wish list.

What this town needs is incentives for small businesses and even larger ones to come here, and stay here. With the high taxes and rents, which are higher here than in many other New Jersey towns, I just don’t know how that entices business owners to choose to set up shop here. You would think that a building owner or management company would rather collect some rent than none. I guess not. Apparently they are content with the asking prices for commercial space and would rather live with them empty than occupied.

The local economy is becoming hard pressed. Every time a store or restaurant goes out of business, those people working there lose their jobs. With Learning Express going away, my immediate thought was “I guess I’ll shop online more now.” I know. That’s not a thought that helps the local economy. But it’s the truth.   

I liked Learning Express’s educational toys for kids that made them think, do, and learn. Toys R Us just overwhelms me with the sheer size of their selection of mass produced items. I liked the personal service in a small store. Learning Express’s Birthday Box idea was genius–allowing children to register there for holidays and birthday parties by placing toys in a box, which friends, family, and classmates could choose from to buy, so the recipient wouldn’t receive duplicate gifts or unwanted items.

I see houses for sale that are unoccupied in my development. The former residents had to move, despite their homes not selling, so they could earn a living elsewhere.  No one’s buying the houses. No one wants to move here; or maybe they do, but just can’t afford to.

And then I ask myself, if I were a business owner, would I want to rent space here?  I’m not so sure. If I’ve got vacant storefronts lining the major thoroughfare that goes through town, that’s not an encouraging sign to me that my business will boom. 

I wish I had the answer. But the question still remains: How will we turn this town around?