Research not retail may well be the mantra for local officials excited to see New Jersey's first private medical school at the former Hoffmann-La Roche site in Clifton and Nutley sometime in 2017.

The announcement came this past week that a partnership between Seton Hall University and the parent company of Hackensack University Medical Center would utilize part of the massive space located just off Route 3. While this comes as especially good news for Nutley and Clifton, it is also good news for all of us. New Jersey doesn't just need jobs; it needs good-paying ones. Ones that a family can support itself with. When Hoffmann-La Roche operated on the site, it provided some 8,500 jobs and paid $14 million in local property taxes. New Jersey overall has lagged behind much of the country when it comes to creating jobs.

It is not just the news of the intent to found a medical school but the hope that the school will serve as anchor for research and development for the massive 2-million-square-foot complex. While the name for the school has yet to have name, there is real promise. Seton Hall is a fine university and can lend its expertise in putting together a top-notch medical school.

The timing seems fine as well. Locally we are seeing a bit of recovery. Bloomingdale and Butler are being bolstered by Quick Chek which is working on not just one but three new sites. True these kinds of retail jobs are the greatest but they also provide jobs, construction jobs. Other places along the Main Street/Hamburg turnpike section of Bloomingdale are seeing a bit of a renaissance. We like the idea of a brew pub serving up locally brewed beers and can only wish the buyers of the old Kings Corner the best of luck on their endeavor.

Like it or not in the highly volatile electronic media age, retail is no longer that attractive. Entrepreneurs of all types are needed. Whether, they are medical researchers like those in Nutley/Clifton or the smaller ones like those cropping up in Bloomingdale and Butler, they need to be nourished. We have way too many vacant buildings scattered through our region.

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