Lakewood Township, New Jersey

LAKEWOOD TOWNSHI P , NEW JERSEY due to a pocket of climate that was believed to be 3 to 5 degrees warmer than the City. Its Lake Carasaljo and surrounding pine trees made for a picturesque holiday. Grover Cleveland spent the winters of 1891-92 and 1892-93 in a cottage near the Lakewood Hotel, commuting to his business in New York City. Mark Twain also enjoyed vacationing in Lakewood. John D. Rockefeller bought a property in 1902, which later became Ocean County Park. The health benefits of Lakewood enticed George Jay Gould, son of railroad magnate Jay Gould, to build Georgian Court in 1896. The Gould Estate is now Georgian Court University, New Jersey’s second Catholic University. Lakewood’s hotel business remained strong in the 1920s and 1950s, but went into severe decline in the 1960s. By the late 1960s, the hotels and egg production businesses underpinning Lakewood’s economy were in decline. Many residents worked outside the township, commuting to jobs in New York City and Metropolitan New Jersey. Lakewood’s leaders faced a two-fold challenge: shore up the township’s economy, and give its citizens the chance to work close to home. An abundance of vacant, unused land inspired the answer: an industrial park to attract business and light industry. Realizing this vision became the job of the Lakewood Industrial Commission, a group of citizen volunteers charged with planning, constructing, and promoting Lakewood’s first 500- acre park and subsequent business parks. Today, Lakewood is alive with economic development and growth. Its industrial parks consist of more than 2,200 acres of land, housing over 350 businesses and providing employment for almost 10,000. Together, the industrial parks comprise the second largest municipal industrial complex in the state. Portions of Lakewood Township are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 27 zones in the state. The Lakewood Development Corporation (LDC) administers Lakewood’s UEZ program and the Lakewood Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). Both programs are designed to encourage economic development through the location and/or expansion of businesses to the municipality. The