What Happened to Downtown Washington?
We lived in Washington from 1987 until 2015 and saw some ups and downs over the years. We drove through Washington last weekend and were surprised on how far it has declined many empty store fronts, buildings demolished and nothing built, no more Turkey Hill Stores.....wow. How can a town go downhill so fast? What happened??
Not In NJ Anymore 
rhubarab333 A lot of the rent went up for people and couldn't afford it. Which is why a lot store fronts are empty.... But... There are A LOT of people trying to bring in new businesses and new people.
MG Everyone buying on-line or at Walmart because it’s cheaper. I’d rather spend a couple extra dollars to buy on Main Street, from a merchant who knows the product, to keep those stores open. Apparently not enough people agree.
Musicgal Anyone know what is going in on the corner of 31/57? Lots of buildings set for demo
Philliesman This is nothing new. I've been here close to 20 years and Washington hasn't really changed for the better in that time. I agree with more people buying online isn't helping. It's the plight of many town centers.
3wbdwnj A CVS pharmacy is planned. And at the other end of town (opposite the bank - a PNC I think) a Taco Bell will be in the large empty lot.
Gerry vali Washington is not unlike most small towns in America. It's hard to sustain small businesses in middle to low income areas. Downtowns in wealthier areas are much more likely to thrive. Small shops and boutiques can cater to specialty items that people with more disposable income are likely to buy. If you think Washington is bad, come to Oxford. There are virtually no businesses here. In the past 15 years, every restaurant has opened and closed rather quickly with the exception of the coffee shop. It's a shame.
Calico696 It’s a shame it has so much potential if they built more homes on 57 and off or 31 and put in a wawa and a brewery or two it could be a game changer. I drive through main straight and 31 on the weekends to go fishing and always says some buildings are so nice and some are so run down. Could be such a nice downtown and restaurant town I always think the same thing for the green in newton a brewery would do well.
Drew Classic be careful what you wish for
Adding people, retail, or low wage work does not improve an area that already has a low gdp per capita. You need high paying career opportunities/access or a reason for tourism/passive recreation and agriculture by wealthy people to lift a down town. There are also people who choose to live around Washington probably because is not the mess of hackettstown.
WarreniteThanks for the replies.
You would think with the large 55 and over community on 31 by ShopRite they could support Washington. We were always hoping Washington would be like Clinton with a busy downtown but it never happened.
"if they built more homes on 57 and off or 31"
No need for more traffic
"a brewery or two it could be a game changer."
Welcome to Buttzville brewery.. in Washington.
Could be such a nice downtown and restaurant town I always think the same thing for the green in newton a brewery would do well.
Not much there to build up. One little stretch. Surrounded by meh.
I enjoy Easton very much... but much larger area, with a lot of cool old buildings.
Josh What Warrenite said 100%!
Adding homes and population will never help solely and especially 55 and older when many are on fixed incomes. The area needs to support jobs that are commutable and pay well enough to live in NJ.
Suze Commutable to where? Washington suffers from “you can’t get there from here” and the slog to 78 is a killer. Have to hit what, like High Bridge to get a train? Any buses even? Doubt they could even reopen the commuter train. Nope, quaint downtown district best bet but with 57 being the Main Street, good luck.
Old folks don’t spend as much, they have everything and just need a 4pm all you can eat buffet to get by ;-).
They even seemed to squander the stimulus update in that much seemed to be inferior and now falling apart. Too bad, I loved the fake cobblestones.
Best chance imo is touristy or agro tourism. Oxford is even more remote and less affluent, hard to even attract weekend nyc expats there.
Although some of this is due to our c19 contraction. We are also first to go, last to come back. Think Washington was pn the come back cusp, but not much safety net for c19 so probably taking a harder fall. But good business is good business so I am betting Juanitos is still cookin!
Strangerdanger Half of the 55 and older are poor and cannot spend.
The other half off the 55 and older are cheap as h 3 ll and refuse to spend.
Enjoy.
dodgebaal I must agree. For a while it looked like it was turning around but In the past five years not only have businesses left or failed, but the structures have been razed. I thought the Lukoil was leveled to make way for a proposed WAWA?
I am surprised by the lack of redevelopment attempts. The St Cloud lot has been empty for well over 10 years.
OP They should have:never let Jim Sheldon leave the BID. Downtown was looking pretty good when he was the director.
The thing with Washington is also that it is not far from Easton. Easton is a major industrial city with a historic downtown. Washington is only of note because it is at a highway interchange.
The Lehigh Valley is not enviable.
If Washington could get some indie restaurants going it could develop a following but that would be limited and right now it’s probably going to fade away. Part of the problem is that they added the strip small spaces, affordable housing, and vacant lots near the DMV. A lot of empty space there that naturally detracts from the downtown’s small potential customer pool and likely turns off some of those drifting/passing through customers.
Affordable housing kills a town. Those who spread Grey Poupon on their baguette sandwiches won't reside there.
Why would fleeing NYers go there when there’s Sussex, Blairstown, and Alamuchy wjere the other NYers are?
I do like the Wells Forgo building. Best safe ever!
H-town main street was pretty dowdy a few years ago; it has a nice comeback as restaurant row/brewery central if we can survive the time of covid. Just needs another quickckek to anchor the East side :-$
Way for a a few you to peg the over 55 crowd as 'cheap' , 'old' , 'poor' and so on. Where have you been? That's not old and you can see people well into their 70's active and spending. Nice to judge.
Sorry to try to be funny, but just saying seniors have different spending habits and generally don’t spend as much for home, furniture, clothes, etc. since they have been buying it for decades. Sure, after 60, I spend a lot more on travel and health, but far less on energy, homewares, clothes, yard wares, etc. Just maintenance really. Heck, I spend mostly time trying to get rid of all this stuff collected over the decades.
Doggy,
If a boomer did their due diligence they probably have the last car they ever need unless they drive it through the front of a convenience store. Many now are working from home, if not retired, so done.
Put a roof on in the last few years, it will outlive you. SD is right, you are not dating anymore-so those jeans you are wearing no one cares about what you look like. 60 is 60, it ain't 30 no matter how much you try to tell yourself. Embrace your silver hair, I know I will when the time comes as I accept who I am.
You either have the "wealthy" older generation, house paid off, kids grown, traveling, etc. They don't buy anything cause they don't want to. They like their old car and enjoy trying to make it last. Who do you have to impress when you are retired? So they don't spend-except for healthcare (but many have Medicare) so that saves them a bundle, plus pensions that will last into the sunset. But they will get their free donut and coffee every morning even though they can afford to pay for it. They spend money on hobbies.
Then you have the other group, those that are older and sucking wind. No house, no money, old car, no pension, bad health. They are truly hurting. Some are veterans. If you gave them money they would spend every bit of it because they need to. The are not down in AC dumping money in the slots like the upper category. Some are probably drinking and smoking as well as they figure why not?
No wonder some boomers would trade the mortgage tax deduction for a reduction in other taxes as they don't need it anymore.
Honestly this area never did anything for me. Maybe because I wasn’t raised in the countryside. I find many of these towns stuck in time or stale. There’s a stillness to the area. And I was hardly raised affluent. Just a square peg in a round affordable hole.
For reals The Drug Rehad construction next to Quichek on 57 and Brass Castle isn't going to help Washington
Chubby “There are also people who choose to live around Washington probably because is not the mess of hackettstown”
Warrenite - what is meant by the above comment. Some would argue that Hackettstown Main Street area is thriving and they are crawling out of the mess that Washington is crawling further into.
CraftBeerBob Cbb; I agree, even the pink sidewalks are aging nicely. I think we invested better than Wash and our restaurants did the rest.
Fact is in 55+ communities the residents are, by and large, better off financially than most in the communities in which they live.
With few exceptions (Mansfield- poor product; White Twp-small , few amenities), they pay above the mean for housing.
Many are downsizing, have accumulated resources.
many have pensions and choose to stay in the area for family reasons.
There are many, less costly housing options just across the river.
Latte’s may not be on their must have list, but they spend money on everything else- just like everyone else.
Stymie You can look it up; BLS website, income and spending fall after age 55 and continue to fall in each age bracket up to 75.
In my case, God willing, income will flat line given decent investments. The increase to my assets will come from less spending which is less everything except travel, entertainment, and health. Two of those I can adjust at whim. At the other extreme, it’s hand n mouth off SS for some and that’s certainly less than when working. Even if you spend more to move to senior living, chances are that’s a one time expense.
In my case, I got caught in a dual donut hole when my pension suddenly cut health and my wife got downsized. 36k+ a year was a bite, 4 insurance plans in 12 months was intolerable. Now, she’s covered and I’m on Medicare where everyone keeps apologizing for the $$$ they charge as they see me doing the happy dance out the door. Can’t believe how little the meds cost. Soon the wife will go Medicare and we will both jump to her pension group Medicare plus plan so spending will drop again.
Bottom line, clearly spending less with age. Statistics bear out the same on average for the nation.
Now to get rid on that closet full of suits :-)
The 55 and over community I was revering to is Hawk Point and golf course. Below is an example of the type of homes in the community. I do not think they are hurting for $$.
$ 15 K in taxes and $270 per month HOA...
https://www.redfin.com/NJ/Washington/25-Falcon-Way-07882/home/37894259
You can be not hurting and spending less at the same time. Everyone one of these folks might be spending everything on home, nothing in life. It’s possible. And if they all came from Morris, the home cost could be a significant spending downsize too.
I would agree that probably these folks spend more than the average Washingtonian and are a great asset for the town to cater too. Wish Hackettstown could develop that way.
Main Street Htown is fantastic
I think fast food row qualifies as a mess, considering it is home to a Halloween store. There also seems to be a lot of vacant/failing strip mall space
Hackettstown is awesome! Some people just hate! I hope Washington can improve and see the same revitalization!
Notafan I live in Washington area and most of the stores have moved out of town and into the Glen Gardner area where it is more affluent.
There is virtually nothing to do anymore pretty much in the town.
Even the Franklin Twp; library has moved and is now closer to Pburg,
The town needs parking areas and less drive-thru traffic.
Maybe someone can suggest something to revive the town...
AJMS AJMS, have you ever been to Glen Gardner? Nothing new there and certainly not affluent. I moved from there20 years ago after 23 years there and nothing has changed. Let me know what is good about it.
Pete Like Htown’s vacuum store Wash has a Fashion for Men store, from the outside both seem to have plenty of merchandise but when it comes to foot traffic and word of mouth nobody seems to shop there. I wonder how these places afford rent, employees and etc. I miss shops like the Jigger with magazines, papers, tobacco...baseball cards!
I saw the Krausers on corner of 31 moved to the west side of town by the bakery.
Anyone go to Czig’s today, a band, crowded?
Roywhite Doesn’t Wash have a newsstand store? Is Juanito’s still open during covid?
I think some of Wash’s issue is timing where a number of new things opened before covid and these folks probably needed deeper pockets.
The best thing for Wash would be a US return to a full economy. Nothing gonna happen till then. After that, entertainment, specialty shops, and restaurants are best bets. As many places like H-town have found, there is some strength in numbers where a number of similar businesses seem to do better than a few. H-town is close to the point where people come to dine rather than come for a specific eatery. When they just walk the street browsing to find an eatery, then you have a district! Very close. Sometimes I just stop at a brewery knowing I will eat but without a clue where. That’s a district! Although Htown has zero entertainment beyond some bars, maybe our next step.
Hey, did the Stone Tavern on 31 turn into a liquor store?
There are several convenience stores in Wash but I don’t think anything like a traditional news stand store, I don’t there are many left anywhere.
Juanitos is open and pretty good.
There is a liquor store next to Stone Tavern, 2 separate buildings.
Hawk Pointe, the 55+ community near Shop Rite, is in Washington Township. The downtown area being discussed is in Washington Borough. Don't confuse the two. The residents don't like it. ;-)
Calico
I do not get your point....we lived in the Twp BUT shopped in downtown Washington. The Royal Diner was our favorite place for breakfast not to mention my daughters spent the entire summer at the Borough pool every summer. Spent a lot of $$ at the chocolate shop and my kids loved the book store. So even though we lived in the twp actually next to Hawk Point golf course we frequented downtown just as I am sure the folks in the Hawk Point do.
On I am sure there’s a townie-township thing going. Envy rules the world. Not really germane to the points made except to say that smart businesses will follow to money.....
iJay Everyone needs to beg John DiMaio to push NJ Transit to open their commuter line as far as Washington.
hose251 Did you hear that boom?
That was the Boros’ Festival falling to covid.
Cancelled by Wash BID.
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