Commuting is often a necessary evil for New Jersey residents, but plans for a new mixed-used, transit-oriented development in East Brunswick aim to make it a little more pleasant—at least at the start and end of each day.

The $500 million project along the Route 18 corridor will have a bus terminal and commuter parking structure at the core of a site with 800 residential units, as well as retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, tech center, medical office building, outdoor amphitheater, indoor/outdoor pet facility, public plaza, and pedestrian walkways.

For those already worried about traffic in and out of the development, the plan includes the creation of parallel side streets to allow for alternate routes. And the developer, River Development, hopes to work with the state’s Department of Transportation to add a left-turn only lane onto Route 18 off of Edgeboro Rd.

The project will also revitalize the township, and specifically the 44-acre site on Route 18 between Ruth Street and Lake Street.

“This commercial corridor, one that sits right at the center of New Jersey, that still sees over 100,000 cars each day, that connects New Brunswick and Rutgers to the Shore, that sits at the cross-section of almost every major highway in New Jersey, that is equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia, is in desperate need of revitalization, and that is exactly what we’ve spent the last two years doing,” East Brunswick mayor Brad Cohen said earlier this month when the East Brunswick Redevelopment Agency released renderings for the project.

The project is expected to be three phases over the next five to seven years and, when it’s done, Cohen wants it to have something for everyone.

“We have aimed to create a true transit-oriented development which meets the needs of residents and consumers of the 21^st century,” Cohen said. “We want to create a community that appeals to all age groups, including those starting out and those looking to downsize.”

Property acquisition continues and work will include the demolition of existing structures on the property, which is expected to begin this summer.