Glassboro, NJ's Redevelopment Project Proceeding, Say Officials

Posted: Wednesday, 19 May 2010 1:49PM

Glassboro, NJ's Redevelopment Project Proceeding, Say Officials


by KYW's David Madden

Officials in Glassboro, NJ took reporters on a tour of the downtown area on Wednesday. The area (right) is undergoing a $300-million dollar overhaul to create a collegiate and shopping mecca over the next two to three years (see previous story).

It all surrounds work on the new Rowan Boulevard, and within a couple of years will include housing for more than 800 students; 120,000 square feet of retail space with everything from mom-and-pop stores to a huge Barnes and Noble bookstore, a Starbucks, a supermarket, and a Marriott hotel; a parking garage; and even a small park.

Glassboro business administrator Joe Brigandi:

"At the end of the project we project our property tax ratables to be somewhere in the ballpark of 1½ to two million dollars."

That's six to eight times what they were before 90 properties were bought out for the project.

It's a public-private partnership aimed at keeping property taxes in check while keeping college students -- and their spending money -- in town.