NJBIZ

chool may be out for summer, but the New Jersey Alliance for Action gathered representatives from many of the top colleges in the state to discuss a wave of construction about to explode on New Jersey campuses.

Philip Beachem, president of the NJAA, addressed the audience.

“This is a major stimulus for the construction community: the materials and supplies that go into these jobs, contractors, and design and architectural engineering firms that are working on them. It’s a major plus for revenue for the state of New Jersey,” he said.

Many of these construction projects have been made possible as a result of a $750 million higher education construction bond that was approved by N.J. voters in November 2012. This figure was augmented by Gov. Chris Christie the following spring, when he added $550 million to the available capital funding pot.

Rochelle Hendricks, secretary of New Jersey’s Department of Higher Education, provided the keynote address.

“We’re doing such extraordinary work across the state distributing all this marvelous money, after a 25-year hiatus and inactivity, to see 176 projects going forth at 46 of our higher education institutions,” she said.