Could Absecon’s New Jersey Avenue Become the Next Collingswood? Suleiman Thinks So

ABSECON — Could New Jersey Avenue become a walkable downtown lined with restaurants, shops and new development — with the city's train station helping drive the transformation?

Michael Suleiman believes it can.

The former Atlantic County Democratic chairman laid out a vision for revitalizing New Jersey Avenue during an appearance on Off The Press with Scott Cronick on WOND, arguing that Absecon has many of the ingredients needed to create the kind of downtown redevelopment seen in communities such as Collingswood.

“I really think it's got a lot of potential to be like a downtown Collingswood,” Suleiman said.

His idea centers on attracting businesses to New Jersey Avenue while taking greater advantage of Absecon's existing NJ Transit rail station.

And unlike some redevelopment concepts, the underlying idea isn't completely new.

Absecon's existing zoning and redevelopment policies already envision essentially the same connection between the train station and downtown.

The city's Train Station Area Overlay District says its purpose is to encourage mixed-use development, pedestrian activity, transit ridership and increased business in Absecon's central business district.

Most notably, the ordinance specifically calls for using the train station as a focal point to “redevelop the old Downtown Central Business District” and connect the station to New Jersey Avenue.

Bringing businesses back to New Jersey Avenue

Suleiman said the goal should be creating a recognizable downtown rather than simply allowing disconnected commercial development.

He suggested Absecon could consider incentives designed to attract businesses to New Jersey Avenue.

“I think you've got to incentivize businesses to come in,” Suleiman said.

That could include tax incentives or other development tools, he said, although he did not propose a specific program during the interview.

Suleiman sees restaurants and other businesses that generate pedestrian activity as particularly important.

The city's zoning code already identifies New Jersey Avenue as its traditional downtown commercial corridor. The stated purpose of Absecon's C1 Central Business Commercial District is to maintain a viable central business district with traditional downtown establishments and encourage pedestrian activity.

That means Suleiman's proposal would not require inventing a downtown district from scratch.

The challenge would be attracting enough investment to make the existing vision visible on the street.

Train station could be the catalyst

Suleiman believes the Absecon train station could play a central role.

NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Rail Line connects Absecon directly with Atlantic City and Philadelphia, and the station has 170 standard parking spaces, six accessible spaces and bicycle facilities.

Suleiman said improving the Atlantic City Rail Line — including faster and potentially express service — could make communities surrounding its stations more attractive for development.

He raised the possibility of Absecon eventually pursuing recognition as a transit village, a designation intended to encourage mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development around public transportation.

The basic concept fits Absecon's existing planning documents, which already call for the train station to serve as a focal point for redevelopment and for stronger pedestrian connections between the station and New Jersey Avenue.

Why Collingswood?

Collingswood has become one of South Jersey's best-known examples of downtown revitalization, with restaurants, shops, housing and access to rail transit helping create a walkable commercial district.

Suleiman believes Absecon could pursue its own version of that model rather than attempting to duplicate Collingswood exactly.

The comparison is particularly intriguing because Absecon has a transportation history stretching back to the beginnings of Atlantic City itself.

The Camden and Atlantic Railroad reached Absecon in 1854. The first passenger train carried about 600 people from Camden to Absecon, where passengers initially transferred to a ferry to reach the developing resort on Absecon Island. A railroad bridge completed the following year allowed trains to continue directly into Atlantic City.

More than 170 years later, Suleiman argues that rail could again become part of Absecon's economic-development strategy.

City already has redevelopment framework

There are signs that the city is continuing to consider the future of its downtown.

Absecon published a redevelopment plan through its official website this summer, and its existing land-use rules provide for a designated Downtown Redevelopment Area.

That provides an important distinction to Suleiman's comments.

He isn't announcing a new city project, and Absecon officials have not endorsed his specific Collingswood comparison.

Instead, Suleiman is arguing for more aggressive execution of a redevelopment concept that has already existed in city planning documents for years.

For him, New Jersey Avenue represents an underused opportunity.

With a train station nearby, an established commercial corridor and Atlantic City only minutes away, Suleiman believes Absecon has the pieces.

The question is whether enough businesses and investment can be attracted to turn those pieces into the downtown he envisions.

“I really think it's got a lot of potential,” Suleiman said, “to be like a downtown Collingswood.”