The Times published the following story regarding economic growth coming to Trenton and Mercer County. To read the full article on the Times’ website, click here.
Mercer County executive highlights economic growth during annual address
TRENTON — Construction vehicles and bulldozers have not been a rare sight on South Broad Street, as a new courthouse, residences and streetscaping have sprouted from Sun National Bank Center to Trenton’s downtown.
MID Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s Mercer County State of the County Address at Stone Terrace in Hamilton on Thursday, January 17, 2013. Andrew Miller/For The Times of Trenton.
That activity is not likely to end any time soon, County Executive Brian Hughes said yesterday. During his annual State of the County address, Hughes said that the New Jersey Association of Realtors (NJAR) will construct a new headquarters for themselves directly across from the SunCenter arena.
The NJAR headquarters has been in Edison for the last 30 years, but the association is moving its 18 full-time staffers to the state capital so that they can more effectively influence regulation and legislation of their industry.
The new building is expected to transform a vacant lot at the corner of South Broad Street and Hamilton Avenue, bringing more life and activity to a city slowing starving for lack of commerce.
“We are happy to be part of the rejuvenation effort,” said Jarrod Grasso, the CEO of NJAR.
Hughes spoke yesterday at a meeting hosted by the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce at the Stone Terrace in Hamilton. The county executive said he hopes that the NJAR building and other public and private investments in the area will help to improve the quality of life in Trenton.
“The commitment to Trenton is a commitment to all Mercer County residents,” Hughes said. “A strong capital city makes for a strong capital county, and this is an investment that will pay off for us all.”
Grasso said NJAR has worked with the Mercer County Improvement Authority in the last few months to get the plans for the project off the ground. NJAR will purchase the county owned plot and build a 20,000 square-foot building to house their headquarters and a retail space.
Grasso said he hopes the association will be able to begin construction on the building later this year. The building will be just across from the MCIA’s new offices in the newly renovated American Steel and Wire Co. building.
Hughes said the new $80 million criminal courthouse that opened this week and the expansion of Mercer County Community College’s James Kerney Campus are accomplishments that have already begun to revitalize the area.
“The city of Trenton can be glorious again,” Hughes said. “And all of us invested in Trenton are backing up that belief with genuine efforts.”
Hughes noted that NJAR is only one of several entities that have chosen to root themselves in Mercer County lately.
Riverhorse Brewing Co. said last week that it will relocate from Lambertville to Ewing, and large companies such as software maker Sparta Systems and McKesson Corp., a heath care information technology firm, have moved into the county, he said.
He also mentioned the online retailer Amazon, which will build a huge warehouse in Robbinsville. Amazon’s distribution facility is expected to create approximately 1,400 jobs in the area — 700 on each shift.
Hughes said these jobs will help to lower the county’s unemployment rate, which is approximately 7.4 percent — the fourth lowest in the state. The state average is 9.6 percent.
The county executive said tourism-related revenue has been increasing and said he hoped that commercial carrier Frontier Airlines’ recent introduction of flights out of Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing will further boost tourism in the coming years.
