Gloucester County is one of the first counties to be incorporated in the early decades of New Jersey’s existence, the birthplace of a rock ‘n roll legend, and is a potential home to the nation’s nascent wind energy industry as well as containing many attractive destinations for commercial real estate.
The location of Gloucester County makes it a popular living destination. It is located south of Philadelphia but close enough for a trip to the city, and it’s also an easy trip to our world famous Jersey Shore, just an hour from great locations like Wildwood, Cape May and Ocean City.
With easy access from many major roadways, including I-295, the NJ Turnpike, U.S. Routes 130 and 322, and state routes 42, 44, 47, and 55, it’s a great place for your office, store, hotel, restaurant or warehouse and enjoy a high level of visibility.
The demographics tend to be lower middle class to upper middle class, and featured townships include Deptford, Washington, South Harrison and others. There are densely populated areas like Woodbury and Blackwood, where customers and employees at all levels are easy to find, and there are sparsely populated area like Franklinville that make great destinations for industrial centers.
Gloucester County sits between the 338-square-mile Salem County and the 311-square-mile Middlesex County. In terms of residents, Gloucester County is the 14th most populous county in New Jersey with a 2020 U.S. Census population of 302,000. Geographically speaking, Gloucester County covers 325 square miles to place it as the 11th largest among the 21 New Jersey counties.
Gloucester County – The Past, Present, and Future of Commercial Real Estate
While it was not one of the two original two counties in the Colony of West Jersey (Burlington County and Salem County), Gloucester County was the third one when it was created in 1686. The county was carved out of Burlington County and, from the beginning, was the exact footprint of the current counties of Gloucester, Camden, and Atlantic, encompassing more than 1,100 square miles in area. Atlantic County was broken off in 1837 as was Camden County in 1844.
Gloucester County received its name – as can be seen in many such instances around South Jersey – from an English geographic site. In this case, it was the City of Gloucester in southwest England near the border with Wales. Roman Emperor Nerva founded the city in 97 AD giving it the slightly eponymous name of Colonia Glebum Nervensis, or – as it was referred to by the native Welsh – Gleawecastre. In more current times, the cloisters of the city’s landmark Gloucester Cathedral – built in 681 – were featured in the Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, and Half Blood Prince films in the Harry Potter series.
Another entertainment link for Gloucester County comes through 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Patti Smith. The singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist lived in both Pitman Borough and Deptford Township and graduated from Deptford Township High School in 1964. She briefly attended Rowan University before heading to Manhattan in the late 1960s to begin her successful career. She is best known for the song “Because the Night,” co-written with fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978.
Just southwest of Smith’s home in Deptford, Paulsboro Borough sits on the cusp of a new age in American energy production. Several studies over the past decade – sponsored by the South Jersey Port Corporation and the Gloucester County Improvement Authority – have shown the Port of Paulsboro, sitting on the Delaware River, would be an ideal site for the fabrication, assembly, and transport of wind turbine components that could be situated off the Ocean-Atlantic-Cape May county coastline.
When you are in the market for Gloucester County commercial real estate, contact Wolf Commercial Real Estate! WCRE is the foremost commercial real estate broker in the region, and we provide a full range of listings and services, property management services, along with marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Gloucester County commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers.
Featured Gloucester County New Jersey Towns Include: Deptford, Turnersville, Mullica Hill, West Deptford, Woodbury.