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Goal 3: Expand Economic Development and Employment Opportunities

The Fairmount Neighborhood needs new jobs and new employment opportunities. These will come from investments in new stores and businesses.  The Plan offers a number of possible projects to promote this goal.

Develop New Stores that offer Fresh Meats and Produce. There is a lot of funding available now to develop new markets that provide competitively priced foods and drive down food  prices in other  neighborhood stores.

Develop a Cluster of Mixed Retail Stores. New stores that market data indicate would be good possibilities for Fairmount include clothing supplies; sports wear; shoes, electronics; and full service restaurants.

Provide new Businesses that Serve Neighborhood Institutions.  The hospital, UMDNJ, schools and other large institutions are a very big presence in and around the Neighborhood. A pro gram that would bring office supply, software, laundry, and other stores that expand the job and employment base.

Develop a MicroBusiness Incubator.  Create an opportunity for people who have a special skill or talent to sell their services at a central facility. Someone who bakes cakes could offer weekend sales, or another person who paints houses could provide those services for sale.  This would give people in the neighborhood a chance to start a small side business and supplement their incomes.

Create a Fairmount Business Innovation and Training Center.  This center would bring training, financing, and other educational and employment opportunities together under one roof that can help develop the business and entrepreneurial skills of the neighborhood.  This might even include a resident-owned business that would provide on the job training on how to run and finance a small business.

Connect Information about Existing Business Programs. By creating a Merchant’s Association; promoting a “Buy Fairmount Program” or developing a Business Services Guide, information about existing business development programs can be more effectively circulated in the Neighborhood.

Enhance Business Safety.  Business owners and operators are just as concerned with traffic and pedestrian safety as residents are. Constructing new sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic signals, stop signs, and other improvements can help business create a friendly commercial environment.

Create an Incentive Program to Hire Fairmount Residents.  When new companies open, they should give first consideration for the new jobs to qualified Fairmount residents.  A “Fairmount Guarantee Program” could be created that would provide an inventory of qualified neighborhood employees to new employers.

Comments on this Goal?

Send your questions and suggestions by email to info@communicationforsocialchange.org.
Deadline is 10 March 2011.

Contacts

If you have any questions about this project, please email us at info@cfsc.org and we will reach out to you.

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