Corrections or additions?
These articles by Melinda Sherwood were published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on
October 13, 1999. All rights reserved.
Housing in the Wealth Belt
Trenton didn’t make it to Money magazine’s “Best
Places to Live In America” this year, but if you’re looking for
some good news about New Jersey, here it is: Central New Jersey may
not win any popularity contests, but when it comes to real wealth
per square foot, it’s hard to beat it.
Mercer and neighboring counties constitute what researchers at Rutgers’
Bloustein School of Public Policy are calling “The Emerging Wealth
Belt,” an area that includes Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth,
Morris, and Somerset counties. Here personal income has risen roughly
$35,000 in the past 20 years, with Somerset ranking the wealthiest
county in per capita personal income. Per capita equalized valuation
(the market value of real estate property) has gone from $5,791 to
$75,369 in the past three decades, so that central New Jersey has
finally nosed ahead of Bergen and Essex in real property wealth per
person.
Unlike New Jersey’s northern metropolitan-edge counties, which have
run out of space to develop, however, central Jersey’s growth spurt
isn’t over, says James W. Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School
and editor of the “The Emerging Wealth Belt: New Jersey’s New
Millennium Geography” (Rutgers University Press, 800-466-9323).
“The market is not saturated yet,” says Hughes. “It all
depends on the state of the economy, but if it continues at the brisk
pace of the 1990s we’re going to see a long run in front of us in
terms of large-scale housing.”
So far the state’s economy has been tireless. This year alone, 116
businesses migrated to central New Jersey, according to a press release
from the office of the Governor. Over the past 20 years, employment
in the area has doubled, reaching a total of 1.3 million jobs, according
to the Rutgers report. “We were well aware of these broad shifts
taking place,” says Hughes, “but the wealth belt is really
the greatest economic pattern dominating the state.”
Evidence of that pattern can is the new sub-suburban housing developments,
where “McMansions,” Hughes’ term for large, single-family
homes, dominate the formerly rural landscape. While the big, expensive
houses continue to be in high demand, within the next 10 years, another
demographic shift — the maturing of the babyboomers — could
bring about big changes in the residential real estate market. The
maturing babyboomers are likely to scale down, says Hughes, and migrate
back to villages and towns, where everything is close at hand. “Once
they are freed of time constraints they’re going to want to be near
cultural facilities,” he says. “It’s really places like downtown
Princeton that would bode well in the future.”
But the McMansions that the boomers leave aren’t likely to fill with
cobwebs — it’s the Levittowns that are in real danger. “Overbuilding
may be possible at some point,” says Hughes, “but as in any
type of market, it will be the obsolete, older, less desirable product
that bears of the brunt of change,” including early split-level,
post-World War II tract housing. “In many cases that housing does
not have the amenities that today’s buyers want.”
In fact, housing development may remain strong if the boomers seek
to continue their affluent lifestyles on a smaller scale. “I think
what empty-nesters will look for is all the same qualities — double
height spaces, high ceilings, big bathrooms, and a specialized computer
room — just packaged in a lower-maintenance format,” he says.
“I think it will be a square foot adjustment, not any loss of
amenities.”
All that makes for good challenges in both development and preservation
over the next 10 years, says Hughes, who graduated from Rutgers with
a BS in planning and engineering, Class of 1965, and was one of the
first members of the school’s PhD program in Urban Planning. “New
Jersey is a laboratory for looking at economic development and planning
issues in the nation,” he says. “We’re at the forefront of
the new information age, and open space preservation and planning
law in New Jersey have always been on the cutting edge.”
There’s no guarantee that, long after you’re gone, your
big backyard won’t be sold to housing developers, or that big 150-year-old
maple where your children first learned how to swing and climb won’t
be cleared for a new bypass.
Open space is a precious commodity in central New Jersey — Representative
Rush Holt recently noted the state has a “denser population than
India.” While the state is doing as much as it can to protect
some of it, private property is difficult to preserve. So whether
it’s egocentricity or eco-sensitivity that motivates you, you can
do your part as a homeowner to influence how your land will look a
hundred years from now.
The D&R Greenway (609-924-4646) is an organization that can help you
protect your estate, regardless of whether it is handed over to the
government or remains in the family. Property owners can chose from
the following different arrangements, each with different tax and
inheritance implications:
Conservation Easement. The land remains in private ownershipand D&R Greenway monitors and defends restriction on subdivision anddevelopment with all future property owners. This usually includesprovisions for agricultural and recreational use of the land, andsubstantially reduces the value of the property for inheritance taxpurposes, enabling the land to remain in the family.Fee Simple Acquisition. This is the sale or gift of theproperty (with obvious cash and tax benefits) to the Greenway. Itthen becomes permanent open space and will be transferred to a publicagency, which designates it as park land.Reserved Life Estate or Remainder Interest. The land istransferred to D&R Greenway and the owner reserves the use of theproperty for his or her lifetime. There are tax benefits to this,since the property is then removed from the value of the estate.Bequest. If the landowner conveys the deed of the propertyto D&R Greenway at the time of his or her death, the property is permanentlyprotected and exempt from inheritance tax.The D&R Greenway takes approximately three to six months tocomplete their appraisal of the land. It’s always less than marketvalue, but then again, you can’t take it with you.Top Of PageJob ChemistryChemical engineers need to shed their lab coats andseek jobs that cross into other fields, says Betty Feehan, acareer counselor at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers inNew York. “A lot of people feel that if they started in the petroleumindustry they have to retire in the petroleum industry,” saysFeehan, who has been in consulting for 25 years. “My mission isto enable people to see other options.”Among these options: Abounding opportunities for scientists in consulting,the burgeoning biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and yes,even in the field of computer software development. “It’s an unusualmarket out there in that the ones doing well are those who are movingabout, looking at alternatives — who see the opportunities forparlaying strength and experiences,” says Feehan.On Wednesday, October 20, Feehan teaches scientists and engineershow to market themselves in today’s economy at a workshop at PrincetonUniversity’s Engineering Quadrangle. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Cost:$20. Call 973-244-0600.Feehan received a BS in math from Mount Saint Vincent, Class of 1963,and a masters from Manhattan College before becoming a teacher, collegeadministrator, and human resources rep on Wall Street. Prior to joiningthe American Institute of Chemical Engineers, she worked as a consultantwith Deloitte and Touche. “I’ve had a sort of checkered career,the common ingredient being working with people for their own prosperity,”she says.Although not a chemist herself, Feehan says she understands the machinationsof the scientist’s mind; she knows where their strengths lie, andwhat tendencies may cause their careers to stagnate. “They’revery bright people because they’ve mastered a curriculum that includesan array of sciences so they look at problems more holistically,”she says. “The question is can someone who knows how to look ata process holistically see all the possibilities for herself or himself?”One such possibility: working in supervisory or managerial roles.”An individual who has been working in an organization often hasto sell his or her ideas, and that skill in cajoling people into doingsomething is very marketable these days,” says Feehan. “Consultingcompanies and software companies need that. Someone who is a goodmanager or good team leader may be accustomed to leading people ina specific industry, and that’s a transferable skill.”It’s important to take inventory of these kinds of skills, says Feehan.To that end:Do periodic self-assessments, either using a softwaretool, or employing a career coach. “We all have financial planners,and fitness managers, there are many people that are actually hiringa coach,” says Feehan.Connect with a mentor or networking group.Never underestimate the importance of a job environment.”I think more people have failures at work because of their inabilityto work in a particular context rather than an application of skill,”says Feehan. “I work with a lot of people who have just left ajob because of reorganization or downsizing, and in any downsizing.I often ask are you glad to be out of there and often times peoplesay yes, it was just a bad fit. Individuals have to look around andsee what they really like about an environment.”Finally, says Feehan, don’t over intellectualize the job search.”Chemists look at things from a very intellectual point of view,and sometimes in job searching you have to have some emotion,”she says. “They need to think about what kind of person they are,what kind of people like to work with, not just what they do.”In short, a successful career begins with good job chemistry.Top Of PageHiring an AttitudeA technical wizard doesn’t necessary make a good ITperson, nor is a good sales rep always an extrovert. Even with today’slabor shortage, employers need to look beyond strictly technical skillsand look at a worker’s attitude, says Candace Kucy, a hiringconsultant. “Skills are easy to teach,” she says. “Mostof the time I’m brought in is because of attitude or behavior problems.Some companies just want to find a warm body to put in a seat, butif the person doesn’t work out, there’s a cost to that person, there’scertainly a cost to the company.”Kucy’s motto: there is no such thing as a good or bad employee, justa good or bad fit. On Thursday, October 14, she discusses “TheNew Art of Hiring Smart” at HQ Metropark Conference Room in Iselinat 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Call 908-276-2914.Kucy, who runs her own consulting business in Cranford, RenaissanceStrategies Inc., holds a BS in marketing from Rutgers, Class of 1975,and started out as a sales rep for Legs Pantyhose during the 1970s.Bully managers or disgruntled employees show up in just about everycompany, says Kucy, either because that behavior was encouraged inthe past, or they were hired solely on their technical achievements.”The traditional model was that you want drivers, people who bulldozeover all the obstacles,” says Kucy. “Businesses tended toreward the people who went out and made all those things happen. Mostmanagers tend to still look at a person’s technical skills becausethat’s something that’s easy to quantify.”Since businesses have to be more responsive to customers and to achanging economy, says Kucy, different skills are required. “Today,it calls for more teamwork between technical, non-technical, financing,and manufacturing,” she says. “A lot of companies give lipservice that teamwork is important, but when it comes down to it,they push results. So the people who push hardest and scream loudestare usually rewarded.”Cloning is another hiring error. “An entrepreneur thinks, well,that’s what my style so if I hire even more of me then we should beable to grow faster,” says Kucy. “The problem is when youget too many people of one kind you lose balance. I tell small businessowners to look for someone who is not necessary the opposite, butwho really brings different skills to the table, so that there willbe a whole different class of customers drawn to a different kindof style.”Yes, sales people should be outgoing, but there are other considerations:”If they’re selling a product that requires a lot of hand-holdingand backup, hiring someone with just that isn’t going to do it.”Businesses are also discovering that technical skills are not paramountin computer programmers or networkers, says Kucy. “The productdevelopment process requires a lot of teamwork between the marketingpeople and the customers,” says Kucy. “They found the teamwork skills were much more important than they had thought.”Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
