Student sought to work on borough's downtown

BY CHRISTINE GRIMALDI
Staff Writer

JAMESBURG - Intern wanted.

The Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition (JRC) is looking to secure an architectural graduate student to design potential plans for the borough's downtown area, all for the price of college credit.

Coalition President Teddy Ehmann noted that a former Jamesburg resident who owns a development firm approached the JRC about finding a Rutgers University student to take on Jamesburg revitalization as his or her spring practical project. The developer, Todd Ochsner, of the Verde Group, Cranbury, is providing his involvement in the process free of charge, and the graduate student likewise would work for free, Ehmann said.

"What's happening is that people are just coming forward," Ehmann said.

Ehmann and others formed the Revitalization Coalition earlier this year with the goal of examining possibilities for improving Jamesburg's commercial district and obtaining outside funding to accomplish that objective.

Ehmann said that everything remains under review at this point. Councilman John Longo, who represents the borough's governing body on the coalition, said that Ochsner is presenting the necessary items to Rutgers and that the JRC hopes to soon have a response.

"We've got feelers into Rutgers that seem relatively positive at this point," Longo said, stressing that no commitments have been made yet.

The student would examine beautification, property improvements, recreation, traffic patterns, and preservation of historical facilities and neighborhood integrity.

The JRC has circulated surveys about revitalization and the coalition has already collected some of the results. The surveys will be given to the intern. Ehmann said they qualitatively gauge Jamesburg in areas such as architecture, friendliness, historical value and infrastructure quality. Another survey is focused on business interests and gathers information from nonresidents about the places and in particular merchants they visit in Jamesburg.

"A lot of people see this incredible potential. There's something that they get about Jamesburg," Ehmann said. "And I want to see what that is. But I also want to see what are, almost, our weakest links. And then I would imagine if we're going to revitalize, we should take care of the ones that are seemingly our biggest blemishes first."

Longo said in an earlier interview that the intern's study would likely begin next January and would be completed within six months.

Redevelopment would take a minimum of three to five years, he said, and would probably continue for 10, he said.

Longo also mentioned borough-wide revitalization for the future.

He wants revitalization to progress in a positive manner. For instance, people interested in revitalizing their own properties could consult with the JRC to ensure that the character of Jamesburg is preserved.

He noted that no entity would be forced to revitalize.

Longo cited the refurbished Corinthian Capital Group Inc. on East Railroad Avenue as an example of a business that has gone through such a process with success.

The borough's re-examination report will consider what revitalization efforts have already been completed, he said.

Funding for revitalization projects themselves are forthcoming. Longo said the coalition needs to have plans in place before seeking funding such as state grants.

A public hearing on the issue will be planned for September, Longo said. Ehmann said the public meetings are typically being held every couple of months.