If you are a business owner looking to relocate, or are looking to invest in the region, let WCRE be your guide to Glassboro commercial real estate. We provide advice and identify opportunities for business owners and investors throughout South Jersey.
Glassboro is nine square miles in area to place it as the 14th largest of the 24 Gloucester County municipalities. In terms of residents, Glassboro is the fifth most populous municipality in Gloucester County with a 2010 U.S. Census population of 18,500.
Glassboro is home to Rowan University, one of the larger employers in the region…making it an ideal spot for inexpensive restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops and more. Many of the employees and students of the university are residents of the area, so there are great opportunities for retail stores, gas stations and other outlets providing the necessities of life.
With the area around the school continually growing, it’s perfect for new construction opportunities as well. There will be a growing need for parking facilities, residential buildings, and thrift stores.
In addition, Glassboro offers all of the advantages of South Jersey life. The main highway through Glassboro is U.S. Route 322, which offers access to the Jersey Shore and to neighboring communities including Mullica Hill. There are currently plans in the works to build a light rail line that will carry locals from Glassboro to Camden as well as other spots, including a station at the university.
History of Glassboro
The Borough, named for its centuries-old glass industry, is home to Southern New Jersey’s first college, was host to a Cold War summit, and is filled with Gloucester County commercial real estate opportunities.
The fine sand that once lay at the bottom of a prehistoric ocean – perfect for hand-blown glass production — and the many stands of oak trees throughout the region – ideal as fuel for the large furnaces the process required – made the area known as “Glass Works in the Woods” the hub of this new industry in the late 18th century.
Solomon Stanger opened the first glass production facility in Glassboro in 1779, but only operated the furnace for two years until having to sell the operation to pay off creditors – through several corporate transactions – to the Whitney family. Among its many utilitarian and decorative products, the Whitney Brothers Glass Works fabricated such well-known historic flasks as the Indian Queen and Booz Cabin designs, which still are in demand today by collectors around the world.
During this period, Glassboro became one of the largest communities in Gloucester County with such in-demand service providers as a blacksmith, wheelwright, carpenter, shoemaker and mason. Reflective of that wealth, Thomas Whitney, in 1847, built a mansion he named Hollybush for all the native holly trees on the property.
Nearly eight decades later, the mansion – which had been purchased by the Borough of Glassboro from the Whitney family as the commercial production of hand-blown glass began to wane – was donated to the state of New Jersey free of charge. It was then that Hollybush and its surrounding acreage became the site of South Jersey’s first institution of higher learning – the Glassboro Normal School, a teaching college, which opened in 1923.
Over the next several decades, the mission of the school expanded beyond training educators to a full liberal arts curriculum and, in 1958, the name was changed to Glassboro State College. In 1992, a $100 million donation by local businessman Henry Rowan, sparked major growth in its facilities, enrollment, and its mission as the name was changed once again to Rowan University.
In 1967, while the school still was known Glassboro State College, Hollybush was selected as the site of a historic meeting between U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin for its location exactly between New York and Washington. On June 23 and 25th of that year, the two world leaders discussed how to avoid a nuclear war, and afterwards there was a “promise of good future relations.”
Get Started With Your Glassboro Commercial Real Estate Adventure Today!
When you are in the market for Glassboro commercial real estate, contact WCRE. Whatever your industry or investment goals, we can help you find the ideal location in Glassboro that suits your needs and offers top return on investment. Let us be your guide to your investment future!
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