The Future Looks Bright in South Jersey

Blossoming economic development reveals plenty of room for regional growth.

By Larry Feld, Contributing Writer On Feb 6, 2025

South Jersey just might be the next land of opportunity. According to Christina M. Renna, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey, the eight-county region is getting looks from corporations that it “never used to get before.” 

Renna believes the heightened interest is largely because Northern New Jersey and many parts of Central New Jersey are built out. “We have the open space and still have access to the New York-to-DC corridor that is so crucial,” she says.

Arguably, “South Jersey” is defined as the eight-county region including Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem and Ocean counties. 

No matter how you define it, the economy in Southern New Jersey continues to be a work in progress. Economist Oliver Cooke, associate professor of economics at Stockton University’s William J. Hughes Policy Center, reports that the region is growing, but employment continues to moderate. 

“Overall employment in the broad South Jersey regional economy grew by just 0.9% (+7,200 jobs) through the first 10 months of 2024 – a considerable moderation compared to its 2.8% gain (+22,000) during the comparable period in 2023,” Cooke says. “Statewide, employment expanded 1.5% through the first 10 months of 2024. This pace of job growth, however, also represented a slowdown from the 2.1% rate recorded in 2023.”

Cooke adds that in 2023 (the most recent year for which county-based GDP data are available), South Jersey’s regional economy had a real GDP of $100 billion. That equates to about 15% of the state’s overall economy. 

“After contracting 4% in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic (the state’s economy shrank 3.5% that year), the regional economy bounced back in 2021 as real GDP grew 6.1%. In 2022, the pace of growth slowed to just 1.5%, but growth in 2023 rose to 2.2%.”

 Tourism most certainly drives the economy in beach towns like the Wildwoods, where lately, business is good. “We have just completed our third year of growth, and tourism is our main industry by far,” notes Lou Belasco, executive director of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Authority. “Starting in 2021, we saw a rebound, not just above what we were doing in 2020, but a good 60% over what we were doing in 2019. In 2024, we are looking at a 3% to 4% growth rate. We have anywhere from 100,000 to 150,000 people here on a weekend; probably close to about a million visitors a year,” Belasco says.

To accommodate the tourism growth, nine new restaurants and bars opened in the Wildwoods in 2023, while last year, 13 more restaurants opened. “There’s recognition in commercial real estate that we have an unmet need. We’ve also seen a continuation of redevelopment or brand-new hotels coming online,” Belasco says. “We have had eight new motels or short-term rental buildings come online, as well as condominium development, apartments, and townhomes.”

Attracting statewide attention in the summer of 2024 was a massive $20-plus million remodeling in Wildwood Crest by Madison Resorts. The company acquired: the well-known Oceanview Motel, a mid-century property built in 1964 and located on Ocean Avenue in Wildwood Crest; and the adjacent hotel, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The makeover of the properties was recently completed, adding much-needed updated amenities while maintaining the mid-century “Doo Wop” vibe the Wildwoods are known for. The reopened resort is now called Madison Hotel Wildwood Crest.

Meanwhile, Atlantic County is knee-deep into significantly expanding its aviation capabilities, Lauren Moore, president of the Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA), explains.

“The county wanted to diversify our economy and create additional industries to level out the ups and downs in our hospitality, tourism, and gaming industries,” says Moore, a veteran of the State Commerce Department and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. 

“We are advancing aviation here. We have the William J. Hughes Aviation Technical Center, with the FAA and more than 2,000 employees. They’ve got a huge campus here that’s over 5,000 acres,” Moore notes. “We have the Atlantic City International Airport serving as an aviation test bed and an experimental airport. We also have the TSA transportation security labs, as well as the Air Marshals and the Coast Guard here.”

The FAA Technical Center granted the ACEA permission to develop a 58-acre parcel just outside the fence of the FAA site. “We are developing the National Aerospace Research and Technology Park, a cluster of seven buildings offering 400,000 square feet,” Moore says.

The first building, a 66,000-square-foot facility, is now complete and fully occupied mostly by General Dynamics. A second 40,000-square-foot building is currently under construction.

As the aviation cluster quickly advances, a nearby cargo logistics project is also being developed by the Industrial Realty Group on a 400-acre parcel it has leased from the South Jersey Transportation Center at the airport. Once developed, the Atlantic Coast Logistics Center will comprise three and a half million square feet of cargo space.

Positive Vibes and a New Golf Course

“I think indicators remain positive that companies are looking to invest and grow jobs in the year ahead,” Renna says. “Businesses now are looking more optimistically than they were a year ago.”

One growing business is Spencer’s and Spirit Halloween. The company is putting the finishing touches on a massive 81,000-square-foot expansion at its headquarters in Egg Harbor.

Then there is Trout National Reserve, a new golf course and development project currently underway in Vineland. The 18-hole golf course replaces the site of a former Cumberland County sand mine off Route 55. Officials anticipate the project opening in 2025.

Trout National is a collaboration between MLB star and Millville local Mike Trout, Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm, and John Ruga, owner of Northeast Precast, a precast concrete manufacturer in Millville.

In addition to golf, the site will include a multi-use facility, featuring a performance training center and 35,000-square-foot clubhouse, as well as seven private lodges. 

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