New Construction Developments Taking Shape in Union County, NJ — Part 1: The Westfield Corridor

🏗️ A three-part series on new developments taking shape across Union County, NJ (2026). Part 1 covers the Westfield corridor. Details evolve — verify current status with each municipality.

The Westfield–Scotch Plains–Cranford–Fanwood corridor is the most desirable stretch of Union County for New York commuters, and it is now the most active. Scotch Plains has publicly unveiled a nine-acre, multi-phase downtown reinvention that will add roughly 350 apartments, retail, and a new town square over seven to ten years. Westfield's marquee project, One Westfield Place on the former Lord & Taylor site, has just been sent back to the drawing board — the plan won't proceed in its current form and the property is headed for sale — which is itself a major development story. Cranford keeps adding transit-oriented rentals and is about to gain new county offices, and Fanwood is lining up its next apartment-and-parking phase. Big downtown build-outs tend to lift the towns around them over time, but they also bring years of construction, more rental supply, and real debate about character. For anyone buying or selling here, understanding what's coming — and on what timeline — is now part of the decision.

For years, the biggest development story in the corridor was One Westfield Place — the ambitious mixed-use redevelopment proposed for the former Lord & Taylor property in downtown Westfield, envisioned with offices, residences, public space, and parking. In July 2026, that story took a sharp turn: Mayor Jeremy Berman announced that the project will not move forward in its current form. With the property's ownership tangled in the Saks Global bankruptcy, the owners now intend to sell the site, and the township is shifting its approach to how the parcel gets redeveloped.

This is not the end of downtown Westfield's evolution — it's a reset. A prime, town-center parcel of this size doesn't stay idle; the question is who buys it and what gets built. For buyers and sellers near downtown, the practical takeaway is patience and attention: the eventual redevelopment could be substantial, but its shape and timeline are now genuinely uncertain. We track this closely, because whatever lands on that site will influence downtown Westfield values for a generation. If you own nearby, this is the corridor story to watch.

If one project could redefine corridor values over the next decade, it's unfolding along Park Avenue in Scotch Plains. On May 18, 2026, the township and its designated redeveloper, Woodmont Properties, publicly presented the detailed plan for a long-debated nine-acre downtown redevelopment of township-owned property. The township adopted the underlying redevelopment plan back in November 2021 and selected Woodmont in June 2023, so this was the move from concept to concrete proposal — not the start of the process.

The plan is a multi-phase, seven-to-ten-year build-out across three districts, centered on a new town square along Park Avenue working alongside the existing Alan M. Augustine Village Green. In total it envisions roughly 350 residential apartments, about 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, public plazas for dining and events, and new civic buildings — a new town hall, an updated library, and a new public safety building (built first, on Plainfield Avenue, so services can relocate before the current sites are redeveloped). It's also a key piece of the township's affordable-housing compliance. As with any change of this scale, residents have met it with a mix of enthusiasm and concern about traffic, density, and small-town character — all fair, and all worth watching as the phases unfold.

Sources: municipal presentations and local reporting, 2021–2026. Scope, unit counts, and timelines are proposals subject to change and approvals — verify current status with each municipality and redeveloper.

Cranford has been one of the county's transit-oriented-development success stories for years, and the momentum continues. New luxury rental supply — projects like Fairways at Cranford and apartments at Hyatt Hills — is adding options for households that want the Cranford lifestyle and downtown without competing for scarce for-sale inventory. On the civic side, the Union County Improvement Authority is planning two new five-story office buildings totaling roughly 225,000 square feet for county operations, with on-site parking, at the Cranford campus. More rental supply and daytime workforce tends to strengthen a downtown's restaurants and retail — a net positive for the town's appeal, even as it adds density.

Fanwood, though tiny, has quietly been a model for this kind of growth. Over roughly the past decade the borough rebuilt its downtown with mixed-use buildings — including Fanwood Crossing and the Station Square area — and another apartment-and-parking project has been lining up near the station. It's small-scale by corridor standards, but for a one-square-mile walk-to-train town, each project meaningfully shapes the market. We cover the borough in depth in our Fanwood relocation guide and downtown guide.

If you own here, large downtown redevelopments are, over the long run, usually a tailwind: a livelier, more walkable town center tends to support home values, and the corridor's fundamentals — the trains, the schools, the New York demand — are only reinforced by better downtowns. The nearer-term reality is messier: expect years of construction, more rental inventory competing for tenants, and periodic debate over traffic and density. If you're thinking of selling within the next few years, the story to tell buyers is the upside that's coming; if you're holding for the long term, you're likely on the right side of these changes.

If you're buying, factor the timelines in. A home a block from Scotch Plains' future town square will spend some years next to a construction site before it sits beside a vibrant plaza — worth it for many buyers, but go in clear-eyed. And keep an eye on the Westfield site: whatever replaces the One Westfield Place plan will shape downtown for decades. This is exactly the kind of local intelligence we bring New York families making the move — see current homes across the corridor via Westfield and Fanwood listings, and read the market in our Scotch Plains analysis.

If you're buying near a planned redevelopment, pull the actual phasing plan from the municipality before you commit — not just the glossy rendering. The renderings show the finished plaza; the phasing plan shows which years you'll be living beside heavy construction, road closures, and staging. For a long-term hold, that's a footnote. For a buyer planning to sell in three to five years, it can materially affect both your daily life and your resale timing. The finished project and the construction years are two very different things to buy next to — know which one you're actually getting.

"I tell my New York buyers the same thing about this corridor: you're not just buying a town as it is, you're buying it as it's becoming. Scotch Plains is about to grow a brand-new downtown; Westfield's biggest site just got reshuffled; Cranford and Fanwood keep adding around their stations. That's a lot of upside taking shape — but it's a decade-long story, not a next-year one. My job is to tell you honestly where each town is on that curve, so you buy on the right side of the change."

— Anthony Licciardello, Broker, The Prodigy Team

Knowing what's being built — and what it will mean for values — is exactly the edge a New York family needs when choosing a New Jersey town. I'm Anthony Licciardello, Broker of The Prodigy Team — a former Bloomberg Administration Director of Community Affairs and one of the most trusted names in cross-border New York–New Jersey sales, bringing the New York market across the river to New Jersey sellers — and tracking the corridor's development pipeline is part of how we guide every client.

Our Above the Streets cinematic drone series extends that reach — aerial storytelling that markets entire towns, not just listings, with audience performance exceeding industry benchmarks for real estate media.

Anthony Licciardello · Broker, The Prodigy Team · 718-873-7345

We'll tell you exactly how a nearby redevelopment could affect your home's value and timing — the upside, the construction years, and the smart move for your situation.

See Why Sellers Choose Us

What is the Scotch Plains downtown redevelopment?

It's a roughly nine-acre, multi-phase redevelopment of township-owned property led by Woodmont Properties, publicly detailed in May 2026. The plan envisions about 350 apartments, roughly 10,000 square feet of retail, a new town square along Park Avenue, and new civic buildings — a town hall, library, and public-safety building — built over a seven-to-ten-year horizon, and tied to the township's affordable-housing plan. Scope and timing are proposals subject to approvals; verify current status with the township.

Is One Westfield Place still happening?

Not in its original form. In July 2026, Westfield's mayor announced that One Westfield Place — the mixed-use plan for the former Lord & Taylor property — will not move forward as planned, with the site's owners intending to sell amid the Saks Global bankruptcy and the township reworking its approach. A significant redevelopment of the parcel remains likely eventually, but its shape and timeline are now uncertain. Check with the Town of Westfield for the latest.

Do downtown redevelopments raise home values?

Over the long run, a more walkable, active downtown generally supports nearby home values, especially in commuter towns with strong schools and transit. In the near term, expect construction disruption, added rental supply, and debate over density and traffic. The effect on any specific home depends on proximity, timing, and the project's phasing — which is why it's worth reviewing the actual plan, not just the renderings, before buying nearby.

What does the rest of the series cover?

Part 1 covers the Westfield corridor. Part 2 turns to the transit cities and eastern Union County — Rahway's arts-district renaissance and logistics growth, the Elizabeth–Linden port and industrial corridor, and Plainfield. Part 3 covers the northern hills — Summit, Berkeley Heights, and New Providence — and closes with what the county-wide development wave means for buyers, sellers, and values. Both are linked below as they publish.

Part 1 — The Westfield Corridor (you're reading it)
Part 2 — The Transit Cities & Eastern County (Rahway, Elizabeth, Linden, Plainfield)
Part 3 — The Northern Hills & the Buyer's Outlook (Summit, Berkeley Heights, New Providence)

The Westfield–Scotch Plains–Fanwood Corridor Report
Moving to Fanwood — The One-Square-Mile Town Guide
Cranford NJ — Home Prices & Market Trends
Westfield NJ Homes for Sale
Fanwood NJ Homes for Sale