Slow summer is over
By TONY MARQUIS
The Cherry Hill Sun
10/2/2009

The slow summer is over, but surviving South Jersey businesses aren’t sure what to expect when the next quarter begins.

Most seem cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind them and those that are just holding on hope their profits will rise this fall.

“We know that this is traditionally the busier time of year, everybody’s home for school, “ said Mark Morgan, president of the Moorestown Business Association. “So we fully expect things to pick up.”

Most companies – whether struggling or not – are staying put in their stores, and if they are profitable, they’re investing into current infrastructure or back into their towns. In Evesham Township, businesses have recently put money into a turf field for the high school, funded most of a Fourth of July event and the Marlton Business Association donated $10,000 in scholarships to Cherokee High School graduates.

“These people are really interested in what happens in town,” said Sandy Student, chairman of the Marlton Economic Development Advisory Committee. “And they wouldn’t be doing it if business was that off.”

In Cherry Hill, which at the end of 2008 had one of the lowest unemployment rates in Camden County at 4 percent, residential and commercial construction projects have begun – though they’re on a smaller scale than past projects.

“There’s still work,” said Ari Messinger, the township’s business advocate. The market hasn’t come to a complete standstill. It’s still moving forward – it’s just a different type of focus.”

In most towns, businesses – no matter how much they’re struggling – are rallying around local events and fund raisers.

In Medford, businesses and township officials are eagerly awaiting the Taste of Medford and Oktoberfest events this fall. Like every other town in South Jersey, not many businesses in Medford escaped the effects of the recession.

“I don’t think there’s a consensus here, some of us did OK and others — we’ve been struggling,” said William Stauts, president of Medford Business Association. “Of course, they have high hopes that everything will start improving, but that remains to be seen.” In Haddonfield, the vacancy rate is at 6 percent, still low compared to other downtown business districts in South Jersey, according to Lisa Hurd, retail coordinator for the Partnership for Haddonfield, the borough’s business district.

“The summer months are usually slower than other times of year for our businesses as people are away on vacation, traveling, etc.,” said Hurd in e-mail. “This year, the challenge was magnified by overall economic conditions and soggy weather, particularly early in the summer.

“Despite all that, most of our businesses are holding their own successfully and making necessary adjustments to cope with economic conditions.”

Like other towns, Haddonfield has more than its share of events planned this fall and winter. And like other towns, Haddonfield is starting to see an “uptick in business,” according to Hurd.

Voorhees Township Director of Economic Development Michael Marchitto measures his opinion of the town’s business outlook with his phone.

If a business is planning on setting up shop in Voorhees, then the owner usually calls Marchitto first.

“There was a period when things were quiet,” Marchitto said. “Now I can see the tempo’s picking up a bit.”

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission recognized the township’s biggest project, the Voorhees Town Center with its more than 50 stores, as the 2009 Regional Land Use Project of the Year.

While every town has noticed some slowdown in business, and each one has a few more vacant storefronts than it would like, investment in the South Jersey region has given people a reason to be optimistic.

“There are still businesses coming to the South Jersey area,” Student said. “No matter where you look, there are new businesses opening.”