Congressman Andrews to join county and local officials to break ground on $300 Million Rowan Boulevard Project

Glassboro, NJ – Today, Glassboro, New Jersey took a major step forward in revitalizing its downtown business district into a vibrant and bustling hub of activity and economic growth. Congressman Rob Andrews joined county and local officials to break ground on the municipality's new $300 million Rowan Boulevard project, which the Congressman successfully secured $1,068,000 in federal funding from the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 (SAFETEA-LU).

Rowan Boulevard, located at the heart of Glassboro's downtown, is a 26 acre redevelopment project which will construct a new 100-foot wide corridor stretching a third of a mile from the foot of Rowan University's campus to the center of downtown. The new boulevard will transform the municipality into the quintessential college town, connecting a population of more than 12,500 students and staff at Rowan University to newly developed businesses, residences, and recreational centers. While Rowan Boulevard itself is 26 acres, the total revitalization project encompasses 81 acres, which features the development of a six-story Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel and conference center, Barnes & Noble superstore, Starbucks Café, student housing for 884 students, 46 upscale residential townhouses, 51 market-rate townhouses, and dozens of stores, restaurants, and mixed use buildings.

As our country faces its highest unemployment rate in 16 years, economic development projects like Rowan Boulevard will provide much needed opportunities during the current tight job market. Specifically, the project is expected to create an immediate demand for more than 400 new construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs in the newly developed facilities. Additionally, the project will generate $1.2 million in new annual property taxes, providing relief to taxpayers during these tough economic times.  Additionally, the downtown improvements are expected to attract as many as 60 new retail stores and restaurants, boosting the local economy by more than $48 million annually. Thus, by putting more people to work and increasing spending within the community, the project will provide a long-term source for economic growth. 
 
Gloucester County Freeholder Joseph Brigandi, Jr., Glassboro Mayor Leo McCabe, Rowan University President Donald Farish, and Greg Filipek and Tom Fore, principals of Sora Holdings, LLC, participated in the ground breaking and announced the local benefits of the project while Congressman Andrews stressed the importance of working with towns like Glassboro to take a proactive approach to creating jobs through downtown redevelopment and retail improvements.

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