The Trenton Times published the following article on March 1, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes discusses development projects at summit meeting

By Bridget Clerkin/The Times of Trenton 
on March 01, 2013 at 8:00 AM, updated March 01, 2013 at 8:16 AM

WEST WINDSOR — With a new airline serving the area and several major development deals in the works, Mercer County could become a transportation hub, tourism hot spot and home to hundreds of new residents and employees.

That was the vision for the region laid out by Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes yesterday at the Mercer County Economic Summit, a gathering of about 100 local business leaders to discuss the state of the economy and how it can be developed.

One of Hughes’ biggest hopes for the area is creating new connections to the Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing, where the county recently acquired 1,300 acres, he said. The expansion of services there by Frontier Airlines could be a big draw for future travelers, Hughes said, adding that he wants to establish transportation routes to the airport from Philadelphia and to explore the idea of making the site an NJ Transit rail stop.

“This could be a world-renowned transportation hub, which would be a huge economic driver,” the county executive said. “We can begin going after that right now.”

He also mentioned several development projects in the works as a reason to ramp up the region’s transportation activity, including the plan to transform the former General Motors plant and Naval Air Warfare Center site in Ewing into a town center that would host a hotel or conference center, a public park, restaurants, retail shops, housing, office space, parking and a town square.

A proposal to build 22 housing and retail units in Chambersburg could also serve to revitalize the area, he said.

“We’re desperate to have some activity going on in downtown Trenton and get that area going,” Hughes said. “Trenton could be glorious again, and all of us are backing that effort. I’m truly encouraged by what I see out there.”

A driving force to help fill those future developments with tenants is the new warehouse for online sales giant Amazon that’s slated to open in Robbinsville, Hughes said. The company is looking to hire up to 700 people per shift, with two shifts per day, and potentially increase that number to as high as 1,400 workers per shift during the holiday season, Hughes said.

And while Hughes said the new warehouse could help the employment rate and job growth in the county, the area already is outpacing the state and country in those areas, according to Herb Taylor, the vice president and corporate secretary of the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, who also spoke at yesterday’s summit.

“The economic picture in the Trenton-Ewing region is a pretty good picture. It’s growing at a moderate pace, but it’s still growing,” Taylor said.

Nationally, consumer spending is up slightly, along with the real estate market and business investments, Taylor said, calling those sectors the “engines behind the moderately growing economy.”

He said in Mercer County, real estate has also seen an uptick. Still, Hughes said he would like to see at least one more industry make significant growth in the area: tourism. He mentioned the historic sites dotting the county as a significant draw, along with towns such as Princeton and sites such as the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton.

“The amount of funding, the amount of planning, the amount of organization to bring all of these elements to Mercer County is going to be unbelievable,” he said. “These plans will continue long after I’m county executive, but it’s going to be great for the economy and great for Mercer County’s image across the country.”