Trenton- post housing slump
October 25th, 2008 | 
Author: The current financial crisis and recent shock in oil prices will usher in a new era for the American lifestyle.
We’re going to be a more modest nation. We’ll buy what we need to live and be less concerned about fads and status. We’ll be concerned about our exposure to fossil fuels and will seek out dense urban living for both the economy of heating and driving.
Many of us in Trenton, even conservatives like myself, see this as the writing on the wall.
Trenton developers like HHG, Bill Carlucci and Dan Brenna are working on green renovations that update housing stock to use next to no fuel. The Broad St. Bank building has afforded its tenants such high heat efficiency that the residents are giddy about it.
Trentonians can generally either walk to work or the train station or in the worst case have short, less than a mile, commutes. Many of us are waiting eagerly for electric cars to show up in showrooms as much of our driving is less than 10 miles.
While Trenton has had its share of foreclosures, developers here are building for the rebound. They correctly assume that the next wave of home purchasers will shy away from suburbs that will struggle under a glut of McMansions and sprawl, in favor of an urban lifestyle.
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I am eager for the credit markets to open considerably with hopes that such developers as you’ve mentioned in your post are able to secure financing for projects in Trenton as well as provide for marketing Trenton’s potential.
Trenton is in a position, if managed properly, to succeed in a similar way as J.P. Morgan did in the stock market after the crash of 1907. Trenton’s assets won’t be equities bought during the downturn; rather, they will be its quality housing stock and relatively inexpensive cost of living. Those coupled with whatever benefits can be derived from being part of NJ’s Einstein’s Alley and its close proximity to NY, PHL and relative ease of access to Boston, Baltimore, and D.C. ought to provide a catalyst for Trenton’s urban revival.
We need a more engaged municipal government for this take place within the next decade. The foundation needs to be built soon. Otherwise, more proactive municipalities may beat Trenton to the punch and leave us to simply further decline.