The transformation of downtown Glassboro isn't slowing down.
On November 4, the Glassboro Planning Board approved Glassworks, a six-story mixed-use development that will add 220 market-rate apartments and more than 8,000 square feet of retail space near Glassboro Town Square.
What I find interesting isn't simply the number of apartments.
It's where they're being built.
The project sits in the heart of the downtown redevelopment area near Rowan Boulevard, restaurants, businesses and Rowan University.
That creates something many South Jersey communities are trying to achieve:
A place where people can live, eat, shop and spend time without getting into the car for every single trip.
Rowan University's growth has clearly played an important role in Glassboro's transformation.
But successful downtown housing also creates customers for local businesses.
Someone living upstairs may eat dinner around the corner.
They may use a nearby gym, coffee shop, salon or retailer.
That's why mixed-use development can create a different economic effect than simply building another subdivision several miles away.
There are legitimate questions too.
What happens to traffic?
Is there enough parking?
How dense should downtown Glassboro become?
Those are reasonable questions whenever hundreds of additional residents are added.
But from a real estate perspective, the trend is difficult to ignore.
Developers continue putting significant money into downtown Glassboro.
And when investors repeatedly choose the same location, it's worth asking:
What are they seeing?
That's the question I'm asking.
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