December 2022—New Jersey is on the up — and while the state continues its efforts to become more business friendly, South Jersey stakeholders continue to grapple with how best to balance development while maintaining its distinct charm as 2023 nears.

As New Jersey’s growing economy sees it slowly rise through state rankings, density and land scarcity, as well as South Jersey’s strategic location, has driven development, particularly industrial warehousing, further south. While a cooldown in real estate markets seems to be underway, the industrial sector itself remains lucrative and has yet to hit its peak, reports REjournal. New Jersey ranks third at 7.8%, behind only California’s Inland Empire and Boston, for year-over-year leasing activity and rent growth, driven in large part by the strategic location of the Port of New York and New Jersey in the north while PhilaPort flanks the state’s southern border.

When asked about the expanding scope of New Jersey development, David Greek, managing partner of Greek Development, told Invest:, “In Central and North Jersey, there has been a continued lack of space and an increasingly difficult environment to perfect entitlements and purchase land…If they have a port-related requirement, typically in the past they would limit it to port-centric markets, which are directly adjacent to Newark Port. Because of space scarcity, those requirements have broadened to the point where a port requirement is looking all the way down to 8A on the Turnpike, or all the way out to Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.” Read more from Capital Analytics Associates.

*Originally shared by Greater Atlantic City Chamber*