Established Hub City for meds and eds anchored by Rutgers University
In the 21st century, there are plenty of cities marketing themselves as hubs for “meds and eds,” or the people and institutions that drive modern medicine and education. While some of its nicknames are newer than others, New Brunswick is not one of those bandwagon municipalities; it’s a central New Jersey city that has been a center of collegiate life and medicinal innovation for centuries. “The ‘Hub City’ nickname has historical roots tied to New Brunswick's role as a transportation hub due to its location along major routes like the Northeast Corridor, the Raritan River and the New Jersey Turnpike,” says J.T. Miller, New Brunswick’s public information officer. “The "Healthcare City" nickname is more recent, reflecting the city’s prominence in the healthcare and biomedical industries, anchored by institutions like Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, and Rutgers’ Medical and Pharmaceutical schools.” Led by the development of its core institutions, New Brunswick gets to enjoy not just cutting-edge medical and research centers, but also the cultural, commercial and commuter perks that tend to congregate in busy college towns.
Rutgers University has a centuries-long history of revolutionizing New Jersey’s collegiate landscape – and not just because its founding as Queen’s College predates the American Revolution. Long after its start as an understated liberal arts college, Rutgers is now New Jersey’s state college, as well as the state’s largest and most consistently top-rated research institution. Beyond the five campuses of Rutgers New Brunswick, the university’s impact is seen in the city’s established and still-to-come healthcare facilities.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is the center of Rutgers’ medical school program and is known for providing exceptional cancer and children’s care. Saint Peter's University Hospital, also a hub for Rutgers clinical rotations, has been lauded for specialist care ranging from women's health to stroke treatment. Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical and medical technology innovations are also a major part of New Brunswick’s central medical industry, as its corporate headquarters have been in New Brunswick since its founding in 1886. Between Rutgers campuses and healthcare centers, county buildings and courthouses house the administrators who keep things running in the Middlesex County seat.
Despite their deep roots in the city, New Brunswick’s healthcare hubs are far from stagnant; their physical footprints are continuing to expand today. Slated to open in 2025, the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center is already an imposing red-and-black, 12-story addition to the New Brunswick skyline, which will soon centralize the oncology, research and wellness capabilities of Rutgers. Other developments like the HELIX NJ complex and new Nokia Bell Labs headquarters are expected to bring increased laboratory space and research and development capabilities to existing players in New Brunswick’s med-ed scene as well as new arrivals.
The College Ave campus of Rutgers University is located in downtown New Brunswick.
Johnson & Johnson's global headquarters, located in New Brunswick, include a museum.
Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center will be the home of Rutgers cancer research.
The Helix and Nokia Bell Laboratories are slated to welcome a host of major tenants in 2026.
1/4
19th century single-family homes and 21st century condo towers in New Brunswick
Buyers looking for single-family homes have plenty of densely packed, sidewalk-lined blocks to choose from. While styles range from playful Victorian forms to simpler, boxy Federal and National homes, “old,” is a fair descriptor for the overall single-family market; it’s easy to find homes built in the 1870s, and prewar construction is much more common than later midcentury developments. Newer condos are popular and include townhouse complexes built since the 1980s and taller towers built in the past couple of decades. The median single-family home price in New Brunswick is $450,000, only slightly higher than the National Association of Realtors reported national median of $418,700. Its significant student population means that renting is extremely common in New Brunswick.
New Brunswick has many tightly built single-family homes with convenient sidewalks.
Victorian homes can be found on Livingston Ave. in the Historic District of New Brunswick.
Prime corner lot colonials are in demand in downtown New Brunswick.
Newer high rise apartment buildings have helped satisfy the housing needs in New Brunswick.
1/4
Busing around, taking the train or New Jersey Turnpike to NYC
Sidewalks connect much of the city and shared or designated bike lanes become more common on thoroughfares around Rutgers and healthcare hubs. Alternatives to driving are popular, especially for those not looking to fight for parking near so many commuter hubs. Both Middlesex County and NJ Transit buses run local routes throughout the city, and Rutgers students look out for their own private red and white shuttle buses for fare-free rides around campus. Manhattan is nearly 40 miles away by way of the New Jersey Turnpike. “The New Brunswick Train Station is currently in the design phase of a $49 million dollar renovation and expansion project. The modernization of the New Brunswick Train Station will provide much-needed updates to the 120-year-old station and enhance the commuter experience,” Miller says. Amtrak and NJ Transit trains serve the existing station, and both New York and Philadelphia are less than an hourlong ride away. Newark Liberty International Airport is about 25 miles away.
The Buccleuch Mansion and the HUB Recreation Center
While reasonable minds can disagree on the correct pronunciation of Buccleuch Park, its dozens of acres of athletic fields, forested trails and curated gardens around the historic Buccleuch Manor make its position at the pinnacle of New Brunswick’s parks system irrefutable. Elmer E. Boyd Park does give Buccleuch a run for its money, thanks to a well-loved Raritan River walkway, the Rutgers Boat House and its penchant for hosting citywide festivals. Small playgrounds, spray parks and landscaped pocket parks break up several city blocks. The HUB Recreation Center is exactly what it sounds like: a Hub City hub for recreation, from dance classes to media rooms and a fitness center, that offers indoor options for getting active.
Buccleuch Park is home to the Buccleuch Mansion, a former Colonial Estate.
The archway of Boyd Park welcomes visitors to an oasis of greenery in New Brunswick, NJ.
The Rutgers University Boat house is located along the Raritan River in Boyd Park.
The HUB is open to teens between the ages 13-19 who attend a school in the New Brunswick
1/4
Big 10 football and the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center
The winners of the nation’s first intercollegiate football game, the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights are a Big 10 team, and school pride turns SHI Stadium into a sea of scarlet during home games. Entertainment is not bound to undergraduate sports; New Brunswick enjoys a healthy performing arts scene through venues like the historic State Theatre. The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center opened in 2019, a mixed-use residential space that is also the center of the city’s burgeoning cultural district thanks to its collection of modern performance spaces and rehearsal studios. Recurring festivals draw the community throughout the year, from the Annual Holiday Winter Festival to Hub City Sounds, a summer and fall event series that brings parades, festivals and music to multiple city venues, celebrating Caribbean, Indian and Latino cultures.
Rutgers University football is part of the Big 10 conference.
The New Brunswick State Theater is a magnificently renovated silent film palace.
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center features two state-of-the-art theatrical venues.
Many festivals featuring live music are held in Monument Square in New Brunswick.
1/4
Shopping and dining on Easton, George and French streets
Easton, George and French streets create a commercialized city center for New Brunswick, connected by sidewalks to its many commuter hubs and college campuses. Fusion and creativity mark the menus of many favorite restaurants, like the light and mural-filled Fat Cactus Cantina. Spots like Stuff Yer Face and Ramen Nagomi have a corner on the comfort food markets, serving enormous strombolis and Japanese staples respectively. If the owners of Destination Dogs marked the global inspirations for their hotdog menu on a map, pushpins would stick out of United States sports towns, countries across the globe and a single satellite location on the fictional planet of Alderaan. Many local bars cater to Rutgers clientele with names like Scarlet Pub and Huey’s Knight Club. A handful of grocery stores and many smaller supermarkets are scattered throughout the city, but for more extensive big box and retail shopping, most head to U.S. Route 1 strip malls like the Shoppes at North Brunswick. The city is home to plenty of churches like Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as the Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple, a reform synagogue.
Fat Cactus offers an extensive selection of unique margaritas.
At Destination Dogs, the owners are lovers of food and lovers of travel.
Scarlet Pub has been an essential Rutgers tradition since it's inception in 1959.
Spina Records opened its doors in 2014 in the perfect location for a vinyl record shop.
1/4
Blanquita B. Valenti Community School and engineering at P-TECH
The New Brunswick Public School District earns a C-minus from Niche. Investments from New Brunswick’s healthcare community aided the construction of the C-minus-rated Blanquita B. Valenti Community School, a K-8 school that welcomed its first students in 2023. Although not currently rated by Niche, New Brunswick’s public school district also operates two magnet high schools, including P-TECH which allows students to enroll in one of three Middlesex College engineering programs while earning their high school diplomas.
New Brunswick Public Schools is a thriving, vibrant, and diverse school district.
Blanquita B. Valenti School urges. students to make the most of the resources within its walls
Blanquita B. Valenti School prepares empowers and inspires students to be lifelong learners.
The P-TECH model is intended to strengthen student's academic and technical skills.
1/4
Crime statistics, weather patterns and Raritan River Basin flooding in New Brunswick
According to crime data reported by the New Brunswick Police Department to the FBI, violent crime increased about 2% from 2022 to 2023. Property crime rose about 38% during the same period.
New Brunswick sees four temperate seasons, with summer highs peaking in the 80s and winter lows descending below freezing. Precipitation is year-round.
Many of the Northeast’s oceanside states are bracing for futures marked by increasing storms. New Brunswick, set as it is in the Raritan River Basin, is leading New Jersey in flood-planning, becoming the first in the state to implement a stormwater utility in 2024. Funds will go toward the city’s own flood infrastructure budget, and lower rates for properties that better manage run-off help incentivize owners to think green.
In May 2023 my wife and I established Minieri Realty LLC a family owned woman owned business with over 35 years of Real Estate Experience, providing Residential and Commercial Real Estate Services throughout NJ. www.RoySellsNJ.com
We am offering you Professional, Ethical, Caring & Knowledgeable Real Estate Services. I have been involved in Real Estate since 1988 with Property Management, Commercial and Residential Real Estate. I am one of those blessed agents that has won those annual sales awards but none of the Sales Awards was as important as my 2008 Realtor Associate of the Year Award given to me by both the Middlesex County Association of Realtors and New Jersey Association of Realtors for my Charity Work. I am passionate about my Real Estate Business, my family and the time I spend volunteering to help people...
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
