NJBiz

Andrew George

Senate President Steve Sweeney joined DEVCO President Chris Paladino on a walking tour Wednesday of some of the firm’s completed and anticipated projects around New Brunswick that came to fruition as a result of public-private partnerships.

The model, Sweeney said, should be seen as a key to economic development that can be replicated in other parts of the state.

“Public-private partnerships are a highly effective means of capitalizing on the resources and the skills of government and private industry to make the smart investments that will create economic growth,” Sweeney said. “DEVCO and its partners have been a leader with an innovative approach to redevelopment. Since its inception in the mid-1970’s, DEVCO has brought more than $2 billion of investment into New Brunswick, helping to create a renaissance that includes higher education and the health care industry. These are investments in our future.”

Also joined by state Sen. Bob Smith (D-Piscataway) and New Brunswick mayor Jim Cahill, Sweeney toured several sites on and around the Rutgers University campus, highlighting the need to invest in higher education across the state.

“We can’t allow a slow-performing economy to stop us from making the investments that will help us grow and build for the future,” Sweeney said. “We have to plan and work for the future. It won’t happen by itself.”

“New Brunswick has been a pioneer in the development of mixed-use projects that serve the community by meeting the needs of the people who live, work, study or visit the city,” added Smith. “The working partnership among government, Rutgers, private industry, the hospitals and local residents has allowed for the maximum use of resources.”