A large mixed-use building reaching six stories at its highest point is proposed just east of Glassboro Town Square, bringing 220 apartments and 8,208 square feet of retail space to the downtown.
The Glassworks project is scheduled for a Glassboro Planning Board hearing on Wednesday, November 4, at 7 p.m. It appears additional public-interest aspects are still to be announced.
The project location extends the popular Rowan Boulevard and Glassboro Town Square District, which currently has an unrelated housing project under development to the southeast. The Glassboro Camden Rail proposed a station a block away.
42Freeway was the first to report on Glassworks more than two years ago, when the proposal featured 175 apartments. The updated plan increases that count to 220 by increasing from 5 floors to 6, and would combine two borough blocks into one larger rectangular property by removing the section of Center Street between them.
The development would require demolition of the former Glassboro Library and a row of retail buildings on High Street. Those High Street storefronts would be replaced with modern retail space within the new structure, with five floors of housing above.
The applicant’s LLC leads back to Nexus Properties, the company behind the development and construction of nearby Rowan Boulevard.
For Nexus, Glassworks would extend its downtown investment beyond Rowan Boulevard, which already features retail, numerous restaurants with full bars, and a brewery serving the surrounding community and students.
Several familiar buildings would remain around the development’s perimeter, including the Glassboro Fire Station and the freestanding Glassworks building on High Street.
Along Main Street, Angelo’s Glassboro Diner and the two buildings immediately to its left at the corner would remain. The building with first-floor office space at the signalized Main and High Street intersection would also stay.
From my prior coverage, I know readers are particularly interested in the future of Angelo’s. The iconic diner is an important part of Glassboro’s history, and under this proposal, its inexpensive diner experience would remain.
Back in 2024 I was likely one of the few who realized that a statue of a painter on display from the Seward collection, was not only positioned to face Angelo’s diner… the canvas featured the diner with this new mixed use project in the background! Clearly a clever “teaser” from the Nexus team!
One smart design element is an entrance planned to be developed for the parking lot next to Angelo’s. This foyer-like extension appears intended to connect the development with Main Street and Town Square, which sits across the street.
With the existing Main Street buildings remaining, the larger new structure would run behind them.
The overall layout is roughly U-shaped, positioning retail and residential space along the surrounding roadways. Parking would occupy the interior, with access from the east side at Academy Avenue.
The former library at College and Academy, which Glassboro previously vacated, would be completely demolished. Interestingly, that building originally opened as an ACME supermarket many decades ago!
When I covered Glassworks in 2024, I had obtained preliminary design documents from 2023 that included full 3D renderings. I’ve used just one small glimpse to show the concept design.
Those earlier concepts also included ideas that are not identified in the current submission.
Specifically, the older glass museum building was shown being expanded to nearly twice its size and becoming the Glassboro Library. The preliminary design also labeled space for a relocated Glass Museum within the new entrance-area building next to Angelo’s.
Neither detail is called out in the official application and site plans heading to the Planning Board in November. Those earlier concepts should therefore be kept separate from what is currently proposed.
The existing freestanding Glassworks building on High Street remains untouched under the submitted plan.
I plan to attend the November meeting, where hopefully we’ll learn more about the updated project and the future of the library.
