Old Bridge Township, New Jersey

8 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OLD BR IDGE TOWNSHI P , NEW JERSEY ‘grand opened’ over 280 small businesses here in this town. That’s why I think the optics are on Old Bridge now,” he adds. With 4.2 million square feet of new warehousing space under development in Old Bridge, the township is focused on a specific use, which is expected to bring 2500 jobs to the community. Mayor Henry asserts, “These are strictly warehouses for storage of goods that arrive in the country prior to when they’re needed. These are not fulfillment centers nor distribution centers. Those type facilities have generated more problems than benefits for a lot of towns around the state. We’ve taken a different approach, and we’re lucky we found a developer who specializes in that. I think the residents are happy with the direction we are going.” About the developer, 2020 Acquisition, Mayor Henry adds, “I can’t say enough good things about them, anything the town has asked for, they have agreed. I think it’s something that is going to stabilize our town for the next 30 years, maybe even longer.” Working from a strategic plan that was developed almost 5 years ago, Mamakas acknowledges that there was emphasis on attracting entertainment, warehousing, light manufacturing, life sciences, and biotech communities to the township. He notes, “We now have the warehouse component, which we had in our strategic plan, and we’re going on to the next phases. The developer who’s come to the town through 2020 Acquisitions has provided us with anything we need. He actually stepped up and is building us an 18-hole golf course, totally on his time, and handing it off to be part of the community.” On the housing side, the effort is on providing new inventory for the growing population. “We are very desirable, right now,” says Mayor Henry.