Middle Seeks Entrepreneurs; Forum Surfaces Ideas, Woes

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township acknowledged its need to create an environment where “entrepreneurs and millennials want to live, work, and play.”
To that end, the township and its Economic Development Council held a discussion at the Court House campus of Atlantic Cape Community College June 5.
The event was structured with two panel discussions and time for questions and answers from those in attendance. The event attracted a larger crowd than expected.
The township has undertaken a number of efforts to bolster economic development, including adopting three separate redevelopment plans for areas of the municipality.
The June 5 forum had two goals:
One was to have panelists speak about what attracted them to Middle Township and why others should consider the same move.
The second goal was to gain input from the attendees on what entrepreneurs and millennials are looking for from the township in order to commit to the area.  
Carole Mattessich, Cape May County director of strategic business development, led the discussion with a candid appraisal of some of the challenges that face the county and the township.
“This is a tourism-based economy,” Mattessich said, “and that produces tremendous job-based problems.” She spoke of the nature of seasonal employment, the large number of low-paying service jobs, and perceived lack of options for young people.
Mattessich also focused on the high cost of real estate, driven by second home sales throughout the county, and especially in the barrier island communities. “As a result,” Mattessich said, “the population is trending older.”
Mattessich spoke of early attempts to jump start a year-round economy by attracting a fulfillment center for online purchases. The problem, she admitted, is that such centers cannot get adequate insurance on a peninsula surrounded by significant bodies of water.
“All of this led us to tech companies, especially ones that did not require a large footprint,” she said.
Mattessich described the county’s efforts to gain a leadership position in the emerging drone (unmanned aerial systems) field. 
Picking up on the drone example, Maria Kellett, dean of Atlantic Cape’s Court House campus, explained that the college had received a $250,000 grant for a program to initiate an operations, maintenance, and repair program related to drones.
Casey Halverson, the COO of Cellular Tracking Technologies, then discussed CTT’s move to Middle Township. Located in Rio Grande with 20 full-time employees, CTT relocated to the township from the Pittsburgh, Pa. area.  Halverson encountered many of the difficulties Mattessich had outlined, including high home prices, challenges of bringing a full-time company into an area dominated by a seasonal economy, and limited transportation outlets.
Halverson talked of the area’s strengths. He spoke of the quality of life, of easy access to government officials, and of getting away from city crime. Halverson also pointed to good values in housing within the township which had been masked in part by the high cost in the island communities.
One of Halverson’s concerns was the lack of suitable rental properties for workers who were not yet ready to commit to the area by buying a home.
On cue, Tom Juliano of Delco Development spoke about early conceptual plans for a high-end rental community Delco is considering for a tract in Rio Grande. Delco is not new to the area. It is the developer of the Rio Grande Center shopping complex on Route 9.
Juliano spoke about the strong business results Delco has seen from the stores in its Rio Grande operation. He argued that it was a good place to do business.
Juliano described changing norms, especially among millennials, which led more individuals to seek rental properties with appropriate community amenities over home ownership.
The discussion went on with audience engagement.
Evan Sanchez spoke about a street renewal project in Atlantic City with its message of the need for hubs of activity and concerns that stretch beyond individual businesses in their own boxes.
“We need to unbox the boxes,” he said, referring to a need for larger, more integrated visions.
The ideas flowed and from them the task will be to discern which ones can be best applied to Middle Township development and how.
Township officials are demonstrating the desire to drive economic development. If the turnout and engagement on June 5 were an example, perhaps the public enthusiasm is present as well.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.