On June 24, 2016, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno was present, along with the Township Committee, County and State officials plus executives and employees as the ground was broken for the new Teligent, Inc. complex on Lincoln Avenue in Buena Vista. After shovels hit the ground, the project began its new construction phase. When completed, the Teligent project will be a $50 million dollar business expansion for our otherwise small Pinelands community. The project means 75,000 sq. ft. of new warehouse, manufacturing plus research and development space for Teligent. This will bring their total square footage up to 110,000 sq. ft. and will lead to a doubling of the company’s employees to 200 by sometime in 2017. The company formally known as IGI has new leadership since 2012 and has taken huge steps forward in the generic pharmaceutical marketplace. Instead of leaving Buena Vista Townhip for greener pastures, they worked with our community for more than a year to make this project a reality. Mayor Chuck Chiarello and Township Committee plus our staff worked very closely with the corporate leadership of Teligent, especially their Vice President, Peter Gallagher. This project helps with long-term stability for our community.
The Township Committee has also been working with Comar, Inc. another large employer in the plastics manufacturing business located on Tuckahoe Road. Their property is directly in the Pinelands and provides bigger challenges to keep them here and to help them expand in Buena Vista. Comar has hopes for more employees along with bigger and better facilities to manufacture and warehouse their products which includes many well-known pharmaceutical-type plastic bottles and containers. Mayor Chuck Chiarello, Committeemen Steve Martinelli and John Armato along with staff and professionals have worked hard to move this project forward. One specific challenge was having legislation adopted in Trenton that would allow for economic funding to come to Comar for their expansion project since they were considering leaving the area. In June, State Senator Jim Whelan and Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo introduced a Bill that would modify the current State Law allowing this type of funding to help Comar. The Bill has been introduced in both the Senate and Assembly. Mayor Chhck Chiarello spoke in front of the Senate Economic Growth Committee in Trenton to push for the Bill’s passage. There are still various steps to go through till the Bill reaches the Governor’s desk and we hope this can be accomplished by fall. Our community needs Comar and the 350 jobs it presently has. The planned expansion includes additional employees along with new buildings that will replace existing structures for better use of their space.
Earlier in 2016, the new Inspira Medical Complex on Route 40 opened to the public. Future expansion of doctors and services is expected at their location. The site offers a new ratable for our taxpayers during difficult economic times. This year also brought the opening of Buenapac on Route 40 which provides flash-freeze fruit and vegetables for shipping to other parts of the United States and Canada. Business has been developing at the site and they will be an asset to our farm community in Buena Vista and the region.
While we are a small town with limited resources, Buena Vista Township has worked towards making our business community feel that they are at home here. We have worked on events such as the Richland Village Festival that is good for our locals and visitors to see our activities, businesses and restaurants that we have. While limited in staff, we work with Atlantic County Economic Development, the NJ Business Action Center and the State Economic Development Authority to find incentives to help keep businesses here in Buena Vista.