Andrews: LumberYard to Add 50 Construction Jobs

Construction of the five-story Collings at the LumberYard apartment building will add 50 new jobs for the length of the project.

That's according to a press release from U.S. Representative Rob Andrews (D-NJ), who announced that he "helped make the project possible by helping Collingswood restore its quality credit rating so that the project could be financed.

"Andrews led a dialogue between the town and Moodys, the credit rating agency, which led to an upgrade in the town’s credit rating to investment grade in late May 2012," the statement reads.

Collingswood Mayor James Maley said that the process of restoring the borough credit rating was "a team effort" of which Andrews played a part, but that the Congressman was "not involved in the nitty-gritty."

"He stepped in to make some contacts at a higher level [with Moodys Investor Service]," Maley said, adding that "a lot of people" helped pitch in to restore the borough credit rating. 

Maley said he talked to "anybody and everybody that I could talk to that would lend an ear," in trying to resolve the problems.

Andrews last visited Collingswood formally in January, when he spoke with schoolchildren and local business owners as part of a series of weekly visits to his constituent towns.

During that visit, Andrews told Sharp School students that politicians are not job-creators.

As an elected official, he said, “My job is to create an environment where businesses can succeed.”