Rowan: Then, now and soon to be

Glassboro is following the old adage of spending money to make money with their $300 million­ revitalization project. Since the inception of Rowan University, it has been expanding faster than the town. Only 18 percent of spending from Glassboro students was being spent in town and 82 percent of the revenue was leaving Glassboro. The idea of trying to redirect this 82 percent is one of the most attractive ideas to developers. Rowan University, Glassboro and Sora Holding have embarked together on a $300 million mission to revitalize Glassboro.

The Rowan Boulevard project is the heart of the revitalization, but that’s not the only thing Sora is planning. The plan will create a total of four newly- redeveloped districts: Rowan Boulevard, the pedestrian-only Promenade, the West High Neighborhood District and the Arts and Entertainment District.

Encompassing 26 acres, Rowan Boulevard is a small portion of the 81-acre revitalization project.  When completed, Rowan Boulevard will be a 100-foot wide corridor stretching a third of a mile from the foot of the Rowan University campus to Rowan’s Downtown District.

“It’s meant to be a very walkable, livable community,” said Borough Administrator Joe Brigandi. “You can ride your bike and walk everywhere without the need of your car.”

Sora’s plan is to have three anchor destinations along the boulevard to draw in people. At one end is the Rowan Boulevard Apartments; at the midpoint of the boulevard will be a Barnes and Noble Collegiate Superstore and at the end will be an over-100 bed hotel. Phase II of Rowan Boulevard Apartments will be complete by this fall, adding housing for another 324 students in addition to the 560 students living in the apartments. The Barnes and Noble Collegiate Superstore will be opening in the fall and take the place of Rowan’s bookstore.

The hotel is set to break ground this year and can be used for conferences, parents visiting their children at college or even sports teams coming from far away to play Rowan. Between these anchors, the street will be lined with storefronts containing housing or offices above them. Sora is already selling these store fronts. There will be fine dining restaurants, as well as casual restaurants including ethnic cuisine, seafood, a steakhouse, sandwich shops, and pubs and taverns.

“You can get a chain restaurant on the highway,” said Teddie O’Keefe, public relations consultant for Sora Holdings. “But that’s not what this is about. It will be attracting the unique, the boutiques.”

At the foot of Rowan Boulevard a 1.5-acre town square will play host to a variety of public activities and events. It will be pre-wired for sound and lights, so it can turn into an outdoor concert or even a movie theater.

Rowan Boulevard will also include three five-story multi-use buildings. Ground will be broken for the first building this summer and the second will break ground in the fall. These buildings can include retail stores on one floor, offices on another floor and housing on the top floor. It is planned that the first building would serve as future housing for Rowan honors students.

The Arts and Entertainment District will include art studios, galleries, framing shops, jewelry retailers, florists, craft shops and cafes. When you’ve gotten your fill of culture, you can go to a nightclub, a bar or catch a movie at the movie theater. Preliminary plans include a 500-800 seat performing arts center. The first addition to the arts district occurred in Sept. 2009 with the relocation and expansion of the Let’s Dance Studio.

Just south of Rowan Boulevard will be the West High Neighborhood District. West High will be home to a 51 townhouse community called Summit Village. Downtown residents will have no more than a short stroll to pick up groceries, prescriptions or grab a cup of coffee. An open-air marketplace is also being created in the former Glassboro public library building offering restaurants, food retailers and boutique shops.

Last but not least, Glassboro’s Center Street, between College Avenue and High Street, is being transformed into the Promenade. With tree lined streets, the Promenade will feature outdoor eateries as well as popular retail stores. In the spring, summer and fall, people will be able to enjoy the town’s activities and stroll down the pedestrian friendly Promenade.

Cardona said that when he attended Rowan, everyone needed a car. But now, things have changed.

“Over the next five years, we will see even more people riding bikes and walking, and that will just be the norm,” Cardona said.

O’Keefe said that Rowan’s recent expansion will have long-lasting benefits for both the university and Glassboro.

“The redevelopment of a downtown, connecting it with a college, it is a win-win situation for everybody,” O’Keefe said. “The town is a better town, the university is a better university because it has more amenities for the students. It has more services for the students, a­­nd it will attract more students to the college.”

Cardona said a light-rail service is in the works to connect Glassboro with Camden. It could start carrying passengers as early as 2014.

Every year, the future of Rowan is looking brighter, but the best is yet to come.

“It’s going to be another five to eight years before Rowan Boulevard is 95% completed,” Cardona said,“You will be in grad school, just getting married and it will feel like a lifetime. But in terms of the university and the community, it will be like the blink of an eye.”