Market voices: Transformative developments
Ray Jones
President Camden Business Association
We were able to help craft the “Buy Camden” ordinance for the city of Camden that would direct 30% of the procurement spend on goods and services to local businesses. This was a major platform for us. It’ll be great to help these small businesses get some contracts that they might not have been able to get in the past. This is the first time there has been anything like this but it’s needed. Camden had a major boom — Camden Rising, as it was called — when all the anchor institutions came here and established their headquarters. Our next push is to go to these anchor institutions and ask for their help. We all know the cliché that small business is the economic engine of this country, but it’s true.
The future of construction and assembly of wind turbines in Salem County is incredible. This is the birth of an industry and a generational opportunity. In the Salem County area, a total of about 1,500 jobs will be directly created by the industry. Indirectly, there will be a significant amount of supporting jobs and industry created. The project is being constructed adjacent to a depressed area of the county, meaning much-needed investment and recovery is expected in this area. There will be training for those jobs that are going to be needed through a partnership with Salem County Community College and Salem County Vocational Technical School.
Lauren Moore
President Atlantic County Economic Alliance
Director of County Commissioners Salem County
Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), which is a $4.2 billion aerospace company, the Lockheed Martin of Israel, reached out to us to capitalize on our smart airport testbed and enter a research collaboration agreement with us toward safe air travel. Our aviation innovation hub is much larger and broader than the NARTP. Despite COVID, we were able to work with our elected officials here to create an aviation district as part of the incentive package that the governor signed on Jan. 7, 2021. There is no other aviation district in the state but ours. The definition of that aviation district gives us a special set of incentives that includes the Federal Aviation Administration grounds.
One of the industries that all of New Jersey is now looking closely at is recreational marijuana. Sixty-six percent of Mount Laurel voted in favor of the referendum to legalize marijuana with 70% of Burlington County voting in favor. This could be a big step in the right direction for local economies to start rebuilding and generating money, especially money that they didn’t plan on receiving. Mount Laurel’s location makes it a prime opportunity for cultivation, distribution and retail. As a township, we’re exploring all options. The benefits, not just medicinally and recreationally but economically, make it something that we might want to be able to take advantage of. I think it has great potential for job creation.
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Ben Laury
| Invest: South Jersey 2021 | ECONOMY
Stephen Steglik Mayor Township of Mount Laurel
