Montgomery's New Town Center Was Built Roads First, and the Roads Will Change Your Errands Most
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
On the morning of August 21, the first two people in line at the new Whole Foods Market in Montgomery Township showed up at 5:30 a.m. About a hundred more lined up behind them before the doors opened at 8. The Montgomery News reported that the line formed along Nevius Boulevard, a road that had been open to the public for less than two weeks.
That order of events says a lot about what's happening at the corner of Route 206 and Route 518. The township and two developers have built a small street grid around the intersection, with a shopping center on each side. The stores were the news this fall. The roads are the part that will change how you get to ShopRite, how you head toward Hopewell, and how you get home from Rocky Hill.
Three loop roads opened the weekend before August 10. Nevius Boulevard and Bolmer Corner run through Montgomery Promenade. Village Drive runs through The Village Walk at Montgomery and a new housing development across Route 206. Mayor Neena Singh cut the ribbon on Nevius, which connects Route 206 to Route 518. Officials also walked the new pedestrian crossings, including the one at Village Drive.
The roads are older than the stores they serve. Township Administrator and Planner Lori Savron said in a press release, quoted by The Montgomery News, that the loop roads were "designed to improve traffic flow and relieve congestion at the intersection of Routes 206 and 518" and "will complete a key component of the township's 2002 Master Plan." The Promenade's 54-acre site had sat undeveloped for more than 15 years. That means the plan for this intersection is older than the plan for most of what now lines it.
The roads are open now, but the change in driving habits hasn't arrived yet. Montgomery Township announced that left turns from Route 206 directly onto Route 518 will be restricted. The township's August 4 notice said the restriction would not start right away and that the timing would come later, without giving a date. The delay is deliberate. The goal is to give drivers time to learn the loop roads before the old turns go away.
Here is how the township has said each move will work once the restriction takes effect, as laid out in The Montgomery News:
| Your move | Once the restriction takes effect | Backup route |
|---|---|---|
| Route 206 North, left toward Hopewell | Turn left onto Nevius Boulevard, across from Benjamin Boulevard, go through the traffic circle, then turn left onto Route 518 at the light | Village Drive, if you miss Nevius |
| Route 206 South, left toward Rocky Hill | Go past Route 518, then turn right onto Bolmer Corner, the off-ramp to Route 518 | Nevius Boulevard or Village Drive |
| Route 206 South, right toward Hopewell | No change. You can still turn right directly onto 518 | Village Drive to the light at 518, or Brecknell Way to the stop sign at 518 |
| Any right turn onto Route 518 from 206 | No change | None needed |
Under that plan, both left turns will send you through one of the two shopping centers. The township designed it that way. Before the restriction starts, you can practice these routes while the direct turns are still there as a fallback.
Montgomery Promenade covers 292,700 square feet, and its developer is SJC Ventures, an Atlanta-based firm. SJC Ventures principal Jeff Garrison said at the Whole Foods opening that the center was nearly 100 percent leased. Here is where its tenants stood heading into November:
For the newest openings, checking each business's current hours before you go is the simplest way to plan lunch.
Village Drive serves The Village Walk at Montgomery, on the site of the 1980s Village Shopper strip mall. That mall was torn down the week of May 11, 2022, to make room for a three-story building with commercial space and 52 apartments. Its owner lists Starbucks, Hand & Stone Spa, Jersey Mike's Subs, Orangetheory Fitness, AT&T, Wells Fargo, Falco Bar and Kitchen, and PJ's Pancake House as tenants. The first phase is complete, and the next phase is under construction.
PJ's opened on Monday, August 24, three days after Whole Foods. Many Princeton-area families will know the name. The original PJ's Pancake House opened in Princeton in 1962, and by the 1980s regulars had carved their names and initials into its wooden tables. The Montgomery News reported that the Skillman location has long wooden carving tables, and locals are encouraged to leave their mark.
Owner John S. Procaccini, a principal behind Gretalia Hospitality Group, told the paper why he chose this spot: "It is, in fact, a village, right? They are creating a town center that Montgomery doesn't have. So you are going to have residences, you're gonna have restaurants, you're gonna have gyms."
The loop roads are what tie his "village" to the bigger center across the highway. Village Drive on one side and Nevius Boulevard on the other each run between 206 and 518. That turns two separate developments into one walkable, drivable block around the town's busiest intersection.
The developer says Phase 2 construction is underway, with more businesses and amenities opening starting in early 2027. Its September update also listed Deluxe Dentistry as close to opening. The developer hasn't published a tenant-by-tenant schedule. The Montgomery News has, however, reported the names announced so far at Montgomery Promenade.
Restaurants and food: Shinjuku Sushi, Turning Point, Angelina Bakery, Toastique, Konaseema Indian Cuisine, Meximodo Cocina & Tequila Bar, Chipotle, Shake Shack, Love & Honey Chicken, Buffalo Wild Wings To Go, Dunkin', and the cooking studio Taste Buds Kitchen. An earlier list in the paper's February report also included Robinson's Ale House and Iron Whale.
Fitness and personal care: YogaSix, BodyRok, Alloy Personal Training, Spavia, European Wax, Hair Cuttery and Ariya Nail Lounge.
Everyday errands: AFC Urgent Care, IVX Health, Deluxe Dentistry, Norman's Hallmark, Image Studios, Woof Gang Bakery, Dor L'Dor, and Learning Care Group. The developer's site also shows an Everbrook Academy logo.
Treat that list as a set of announcements, not a calendar. Whole Foods, Ulta, Panera and Wonder have been the first wave. Most of the restaurant names that will draw evening traffic down Nevius Boulevard and Bolmer Corner are still to come. If the left-turn restriction starts around the same time, both changes will reach the intersection together.
If you live near Route 206 and want to talk through what the new center and the loop roads mean for your street, Beverly Yoson is glad to sit down with you and share what she's seeing. Let's Connect.
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