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ALL ROADS GO MOUNT LAURE MOUNT LAUREL, NJ AT A GLANCE MOUNT LAUREL, NEW JERSEY WHAT: A township of 45,000 WHERE: I n Burlington County, 20 miles east of Philadelphia WEBSITE: www.mountlaurel.com 1 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07
O THROUGH ELA CITY THAT SHOWS EVERY INDICATION TO BE GROWING ECONOMICALLY AND RECREATIONALLY Mount Laurel, New Jersey is a township in Burlington County, located some 20 miles east of Philadelphia, across the Delaware River. Its earliest settlers were the Lenape Indians, whose historical territory covered much of pre-colonial northeast America. It was they who established the trails that some of 2 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07
today’s modern roads still follow. The Lenape were eventually displaced by European settlers and citizens of the newly independent United States during the last decades of the 18th century. The township was incorporated in 1872 and named for a hill covered with laurel trees located at the town’s main crossroad. Up until the late 1960s, Mount Laurel was a rural farming community. Then it became part of the massive suburban migration that occurred across America, fueled by a thriving post-WWII economy, an exponential growth in automobile ownership year after year, and an ever-expanding ribbon of super highways built to accommodate their drivers’ desire to leave the city behind in the rearview mirror at the end of each workday. As Mount Laurel grew, its character was largely defined by the roads upon its landscape. Interstate 295 and the heavily traveled New Jersey Turnpike runs along its northwest border, and its 22 square miles are bisected by east/west State Route 38 and north/south State Route 73. “Access has always been a drawing point of Mount Laurel,” says William Giegerich, the town’s Director of Economic and Community Development.“Because we do have 295, the Turnpike, and two state highways, it does lend itself to be in a great location.” A FOUNDATION OF COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES Today’s Mount Laurel is a hubbub of commercial activity, with a mix of light industrial buildings, office parks, shopping malls, and eateries built alongside and just beyond its roads. And because of its ready access to the aforementioned byways, plus its proximity to Philadelphia Airport, its hotel industry thrives, as well. The township ranks third-highest in the state for its number of hotels, behind only Atlantic City and Newark. Mount Laurel also offers two large-scale entertainment venues: the FunPlex is a 25-acre indoor/outdoor amusement park, and Topgolf is a unique, three-story, indoor golfing facility with a sports bar and restaurant. Both attract large numbers of residents, tourists, and passersby. “Because of where we’re located, there’s a draw 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ
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for businesses to come into our town,” says Mayor Fozia Janjua.”“Another thing which also adds to our desirability is the nice commercial base we already have here,” adds Township Manager, Meredith Riculfy. “The town has a lot going on during the day; other towns are more quiet because people go off to work so there might not be as many restaurants, for example. Mount Laurel Township grows during the day because of our commercial hub.That makes more commercial entities -- shopping, eateries, breweries, bars, entertainment -- want to come here.” “What makes it a great place is that we have so much diversity and we’re continuing to develop,” says Janjua.“Within the last year, we’ve had so many key businesses that have come to Mount Laurel. We recently had a ribbon cutting for a Macy’s Boutique store, which is their first one in the northeast. And 5 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ
FULTON BANK COMMITS TO COMMUNITY IMPACT IN SOUTH JERSEY From affordable housing to economic development to financial literacy and education, Fulton Bank is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities across the region, including South Jersey. The Bank has established a strong foothold in the region with a total of 27 financial centers. Mt. Laurel is home to Fulton’s South Jersey regional headquarters where the Bank recently invested in solar panels for the 33,000-sq.-ft. building to support environmental sustainability. Fulton has partnered with many local businesses and organizations in the region as part of its ongoing commitment to residents and entrepreneurs in the community. In addition to supporting many local non-profit organizations like St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society, Cathedral Kitchen, Parkside Business & Community in Partnership, the Bank serves as a sponsor and panelist for the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey’s Rutgers Business Outlook forum. Fulton is committed to serving the South Jersey area. In April, the company acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed substantially all of the deposits and certain liabilities of Republic First Bank, doing business as Republic Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.This move nearly doubled Fulton’s presence across Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey. Building stronger communities, together. 1.800.FULTON.4 • fultonbank.com Fulton Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
A redevelopment zone that the township established several years ago on SR-38 added 80,000 more square feet of new commercial space and Giegerich reports that a Hampton Inn will be adding a whole new wing to its extended stay suites there. Looming tall, new Hawthorn Suites hotel that went up last year at the FunPlex, and town administrators have been working on plans to revitalize the Rancocas Woods Village of antique stores and craft shops in the northern part of town into Mount Laurel’s primary city core and main street area, with hopes of seeing it become a business and shopping district that will attract significant regional economic investment. In addition, sometime next year, there we have Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar, a California eatery, that’s opening up. We also maintain a relationship with the businesses that are here; we promote them on Facebook and our newsletter and that keeps residents in touch with what’s coming up, what’s already there, and what to expect. Having that communication and that dialogue with the businesses in town helps our desirability.” Helping Mount Laurel attract and retain businesses are its close relationships with the Burlington Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Department of Burlington County, and the town’s state legislators and senators. “We all work hand-in-hand,” says Giegerich. 7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ
“It’s a very desirable town to live in,” Janjua affirms. “You see open houses, and there’s a line of cars. I saw an open house where there was a wait to get inside.” Mount Laurel’s population has been increasing yearly and so it has had to work assiduously to keep up with the accelerating pace of growth. “An article I just read in Realtor.com said that Mount Laurel is running 4th for the hottest real estate market in the nation,” Giegerich notes. “You have the Gables, which is on Marne Highway, and that is 500 units between condos and townhomes, and you have Delco which developed Haddon Point and that’s close to 600 units – 120 of senior affordable housing and a mixture of apartments and townhouses, as well, in that location.” PRESERVING OPEN SPACE That being said, the town’s administrators are committed to maintaining some of its open spaces, as well.“We recently purchased 47 acres of space to separate residential and commercial areas in town,” Janjua says. “We do want to maintain the integrity will be a redesigning of a 1.5-mile stretch of SR-73 to improve traffic flow and better access to I-295 and the Turnpike. A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE And yet, with all its many commercial assets, Mount Laurel is also home to 45,000 residents, who, because of the township’s quality school system, its welcoming parks and recreation areas, its accessibility to a wide variety of consumer and entertainment locales, and its affordable housing options, enjoy a quality of life well above the average. Indeed, in 2020, Mount Laurel was ranked 16th in Money magazine’s list of the 50 best places to live in the United States. 8 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07
of the town.” Open green spaces in Mount Laurel are key to its charm and small-town atmosphere; almost one-quarter of its land is either municipally owned or privately preserved. The township’s many parks offer recreational amenities to residents and visitors alike. Laurel Acres Park, is a 91-acre, award-winning park known for its Veterans Memorial, trout-stocked fishing lake, nature trails and jogging paths, playgrounds and ball fields (including the state-of-the-art Laurel Acres Baseball complex with eight fields), a dog run, and a grassy hill that features concerts in the summer, and snow sledding in the winter. Memorial Park features a beautiful garden dedicated to the soldiers and firefighters lost during 9/11, and four multi-use fields. Larchmont Park offers two basketball courts and six tennis courts, all of which have lights for night-time playing.The Laurel House, which serves as the town’s main community center, hosting various activities and events, has just added a pavilion and a playground complete with a rockclimbing wall. Other parks and facilities provide even more green space, playgrounds, playing fields, and pavilions for public use. YEAR-LONG COMMUNITY EVENTS Mount Laurel also offers its residents and visitors a plethora of community events and festivals. Its annual food truck festival, replete with pony rides, animal petting, face-painting, bounce houses, rides, and all manner of family-oriented activities, draws around 20,000 participants; the town hosts celebrations for Juneteenth, Ramadan, Christmas, and Chanukah; the local police department sponsors a camping event for kids on Memorial Day weekend; and, this year, a July 3rd fireworks event with food and music is being combined with an emergency management night that lets people ride in a police car, ambulance, and/ or fire truck.And of course, concerts and free movies are offered throughout the summer. “We’re the second biggest town in Burlington County,” cites Janjua,“but it still has that special, small-town feel. And I think our events are key to that feeling because we bring people together and there’s always things going on in town.And every year, we’re adding more and more things that benefit our residents.” 9 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ
PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Fulton Bank www.fultonbank.com Fulton Bank is a premier community bank offering a broad array of products and services at more than 200 financial centers in the MidAtlantic region. Fulton seeks to change lives for the better by building strong customer relationships, providing significant community support and empowering its employees to do the same. n Remington & Vernick Engineers www.rve.com Remington & Vernick Engineers is one of the oldest established consulting firms in the country with offices throughout NJ. Our more than 450 employees bring expertise in the major areas of engineering and related disciplines required to implement projects in our four markets: Municipal, Transportation and Infrastructure, Facilities and Water/Wastewater. A PATH FOR CONTINUED PROGRESS Going forward, Riculfy reports that Mount Laurel will continue doing what it’s been doing so well: growing commercially and recreationally. “We’ll continue to be a draw for commercial businesses and residents,” she states. “We’ll continue to track businesses that want to come here and be community partners with us.As for recreation, we’re building a man-made lake on land we purchased. It’s going to have a walking trail and a spot for fishing.And we’re adding a splash pad too.” “We’re excited about all the upcoming projects we have in town,” says Janjua in conclusion. “Mount Laurel is going to get better and better each year. At the same time, we’re going to maintain that small-town feel and our open space and our charm and character because that’s what Mount Laurel is.” 10 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07
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