Board Meeting – January 24, 2025 – 4:00pm
Board Meeting – January 24, 2025 – 4:00pm
The Authority: Your One-Stop Business Resource.
In 2015, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners designated The Authority as the county’s economic development and redevelopment agency. With bonding and redevelopment capabilities, The Authority has facilitated private development projects across the county, constructed and managed numerous public facilities, and served as a lead in shared services projects. The economic impact of the projects developed by The Authority, more than $1 billion, is detailed in our Impact Report, as well as other achievements.
The Authority’s role is to advocate for local businesses, assist in relocating new business and industry to Cumberland County, and to be a catalyst for development and innovation across the county. The Authority can acquire, build and finance public facilities, including office buildings, educational and training centers, and recreational sites. Private facilities also qualify for project management services when they are located in a designated Redevelopment Area.
The Authority works collaboratively with numerous state, federal and local partners to customize the assistance needed by each individual business. From workforce expansion and employee upskilling to financial assistance and permitting, The Authority has the expertise to help make your business start-up, relocation or expansion goals a reality. In sum, The Authority is your one stop business resource center.
The Authority recognizes that a vital part of any region’s economic prosperity is a strong and diverse small business community. Accordingly, Authority staff are equally focused on the needs of local small businesses and entrepreneurs. Cumberland County is a prime small business location, with significant resources available to support growing enterprises and also to assist entrepreneurs interested in starting a new business.
The Authority has a unique partnership to deliver customized workforce training initiatives to meet any business needs. The county Workforce Development Center, the community’s nationally-ranked college, Rowan College of South Jersey, and the Cumberland Technical Education Center, are all co-located on one centrally located campus. These agencies work collaboratively with The Authority to coordinate business workforce needs with new or existing curriculum, training, or services. A complete portfolio of training, recruitment, and screening services is available at one location to provide you the most efficient and effective workforce initiatives.
The Authority can also link you to On-the-Job Training Grants for on-site training, State and Federal Tax Credits for hiring qualified residents, and customized training grants to provide resources tailored to your specific educational needs. The improved delivery and one-stop access to innovative programs, advanced training, and customized services ensures you have a quality labor pool. These services are available through a partnership with the Cumberland County Workforce Development Office, Business Services Division.
Ensuring your business has multi-level, skilled labor is a key component of The Authority’s business services. The Authority works alongside local partners to create an integral support team ensuring business success.
Specific programs include:
Additional Information about workforce programs and resources can be obtained from:
Academic education, as well as customized technical and professional training, is available from Rowan College of South Jersey, Cumberland Division. Everything from Lean Six Sigma to adult basic education and customized corporate training can be arranged to provide local business with the best possible resources for workforce advancement. The Division of Workforce and Community Education will design the training, develop the curriculum, and teach the classes to provide specific skills and certifications.
The new MILL building – Mechatronics Innovation Learning Lab – develops connections and linkages between engineering students, Rowan University, and local industries. This is part of the college’s goal of linking student education with in-demand jobs.
With a strong agricultural heritage and ample land and infrastructure, Cumberland County has been able to attract many national and international food manufacturing companies. Cold storage companies and logistics firms are linked directly to this sector as well.
There are two unique opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop and test new ideas as well as to begin to accelerate production. The Rutgers Food Innovation Center and The Authority’s Food Specialization Center are both co-located in the Bridgeton Industrial Park, on Rt. 49.
Rutgers Food Innovation Center is a unique facility that serves as a food business incubation center. This 23,000 sf facility is operated as a food incubation and accelerator program by Rutgers University, and is also the only “soft landings” program for food processing in the world. The facility includes an FDA and USDA-inspected shared-use processing area as well as food industry focused training and customized consulting and market research. There are fully equipped kitchens, cold storage, and classrooms.
The Food Specialization Center, operated by The Authority, offers customized space for food-based businesses ready to go into limited production. Companies can lease production, freezer, and shipping space from these new 30,000 sf facility, opened in 2021.
