Menlo Engineering Associates, (MEA) along with the other members of the design team collaborated on a comprehensive program to meet client and community interests, beginning with the main arrival from Route 1. The entry drive aligns with a central axis framed with trees and a heavy understory planting. This main entry terminates at a restaurant block envisioned as the Edison Town Square—Garden Plaza. Here, a topiary labyrinth garden for families connects with tree-lined pedestrian walkways, paralleling the central axis extending to the Towne Square.

A central challenge was integrating this development into the existing fabric of the surrounding residential neighborhoods. MEA’s civil engineers and landscape architects collaborated on the landforms and planting designs to create a unique and effective buffer, which was a key component for township approval. Working with township landscape architects, MEA further enhanced the original site plan to better complement both the development and the surrounding streetscapes, providing a functional and significant visual separation from the adjoining residential properties.

Extensive 3D renderings were produced to demonstrate the effectiveness of the buffer and the relationship of the structures, parking areas and roadways with the surrounding neighborhoods. MEA developed a site model with topography and the architectural plans along with plantings at both installation size and at 15-years growth, to document the plantings’ visual contribution. These perspective views, cross sections and plan renderings were critical to the application process, ultimately winning the approval of the township.