Rowan Is Gr-rowan!

Phase 1 going up

It's the biggest burst of campus-related development since ground broke on Bunce Hall in 1923.

Rowan Boulevard - a private-public partnership linking the university's main Glassboro campus with the borough's downtown - is well underway and the first phase of the project, four-story apartment buildings for some 560 students, will be ready by the fall semester.

The $300 million project, financed almost entirely by Sewell-based real estate developer SORA Holdings, will ultimately include housing for more than 870 students in a walkable, mixed use zone.

Street level shopping options will include dozens of brand new retail outlets including restaurants and cafes, a Barnes & Noble university bookstore, and a 107-room hotel and conference center.

The housing component at Route 322 and Main Street, which was designed for construction in two phases, will contain 28 one-bedroom efficiency units and 214 four-bedroom suites. The housing complex is slated for completion by August 2010 and will also contain exercise and weight rooms, meeting rooms, laundry facilities and a Public Safety satellite office.

A glimpse of things to come

Housing just a start

Situated on a landscaped, 26-acre corridor, Rowan Boulevard will not merely link the campus and borough center, its goal is to transform Glassboro into the quintessential college town.

"This is a unique opportunity, one we couldn't afford to pass," said Glassboro Mayor Leo McCabe. "To have this kind of investment - virtually all of it private - is almost unheard of."

While SORA is shouldering most of the financial load, $3.4 million in federal and state grants were obtained for roadway construction. The University has committed $1 million over 10 years for studies and expenses to support the plan and has made a long-term commitment through leases on the apartment and bookstore buildings.

Once complete, officials believe the project will enable the borough, the geographic center of Gloucester County, to attract shoppers and diners from across the region to dozens of new restaurants and boutiques. The new roadway will include a 1.5 acre Town Square and, according to SORA officials, produce as much as $225 million per year for the local economy. Separately, an East High Street arts and entertainment district is also planned.

SORA officials said the project, nearly a decade in planning, is expected to create up to 700 new permanent jobs (not including construction work) for students and residents and to offset the local tax burden with some $1.2 million in annual property taxes.

Naadia & Natalie chat up Rowan Boulevard during summer school class

Further, a state plan to extend rail service into Glassboro from Philadelphia, expected within five to 10 years, is intended to foster greater "smart growth" - redevelopment of existing downtown areas that preserves green space and wooded areas.

Meanwhile, the borough's Historic Commission is raising funds to renovate a historic train station on the corner of Whitney and Oakwood Avenues and municipal officials have tentative plans, in partnership with Rowan, to launch a campus trolley service that will eventually serve the downtown and surrounding business areas.

While some students do not yet fully comprehend all the changes afoot, many can't help but be excited.

"It certainly seems like there will be a lot more to do and if there's more to do, absolutely, it's very exciting," said Naadia Saunders, 21, a communication studies major from Bronx, N.Y.

Natalie Crenny, 21, a senior public relations major from Blackwood, believes the development will greatly benefit not only Rowan and Glassboro but the entire region.

"I'm convinced of it," she said. "In fact, I may just have to stay here for my Masters."

Quick Facts

Road closed, but not for long

According to data collected by SORA, Glassboro and Rowan University are ideally situated for such a massive investment. The builder found that:

• Glassboro is at the epicenter of the fastest growing region of New Jersey with 24% growth between 2000 and 2004

• In addition to Rowan's roughly 10,000 students and 2,500 employees, nearly 350,000 people live within 10 miles of downtown (a population greater than that of St. Louis!)

• An excellent network of highways and secondary roadways including Routes 322 and 55, the N.J. Turnpike and I-295 provide easy access to and from Glassboro.

• Now under construction, the 100-foot wide Rowan Boulevard will stretch one third of a mile from Rowan University at Route 322 and Whitney Avenue to the intersection of Main and High Streets in Glassboro's downtown retail district.

• While Rowan Boulevard encompasses 26 acres, the entire downtown redevelopment zone involves some 81 acres of prime real estate and, according to the developer, eminent domain was required for none of the properties absorbed in the redesign.