Economic Advisory & Institutional Strategy

Where Mission
Meets the Market.

Hard problems. High stakes. Executed.

AJP Associates advises governments, anchor institutions, nonprofits, and mission-aligned investors on the most consequential development challenges at the intersection of public purpose and private capital. I've been in the room — not as the outside advisor, but as the one responsible for the outcome.

Our Work Our Services
Anthony J. Perno III, J.D.
Founding Principal · AJP Associates
$2B+
Investment Catalyzed
$970M+
P3 Transactions Structured
$200M+
Federal & State Grants Secured
Tri-Sector
Public · Private · Institutional
What We Do

Advisory Built for
Complexity

AJP Associates operates at the intersection of economic development strategy, institutional real estate, and public-private partnership — serving clients who need more than analysis. They need a partner who has done it.

01
Economic Development Strategy

Place-based investment strategy for cities and communities navigating transformation.

  • Catalytic project planning & anchor institution partnerships
  • Federal & state grant strategy (HUD, EDA, CDBG, Choice)
  • Neighborhood revitalization frameworks
  • BID formation, operations & clean-and-safe strategy
  • Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)
02
Institutional Real Estate & P3 Advisory

Structuring the partnerships that turn transactions into lasting community investments.

  • P3 structuring, ground lease negotiation & developer selection
  • Campus master planning & capital program governance
  • Alternative financing: tax credits, energy performance contracts
  • Asset disposition, acquisition & portfolio strategy
  • Joint Powers Authority (JPA) formation & governance frameworks
03
Institutional Asset Strategy & Economic Optimization

Maximizing the economic and community value of institutional assets — through development, repositioning, or when the situation calls for it, structured wind-down.

  • Real estate wind-down & asset disposition in restructuring and bankruptcy contexts
  • Healthcare & higher education distressed asset strategy
  • Inner-city market activation: uncovering the authentic building blocks within a community to create durable investment
  • Asset preservation through structured disposition
  • Community hospital & anchor retention strategy
04
Governance & Organizational Development

Building institutions that earn community trust — so that when decisions are made, the people most affected have had a genuine seat at the table.

  • Capital allocation policy & decision governance frameworks
  • Board development & stakeholder convening
  • Community engagement design & participatory planning
  • Multi-entity governance across subsidiaries
  • Merger, consolidation & integration strategy
Signature Work

A Track Record Built,
Not Described.

Three decades of consequential work across urban economic development, institutional real estate, and academic healthcare — told through the projects that defined cities, universities, and communities.

Camden, NJ · Delaware Waterfront
Chapter 01
1999 — 2018 · Camden, NJ

Camden City
Revitalization

Cooper's Ferry Partnership, Inc. — President & CEO

Appointed CEO of a nonprofit on the verge of insolvency in one of America's most economically distressed cities. Over 10 years, catalyzed $2B+ in private and public investment — forging landmark partnerships with the Philadelphia 76ers, L3 Communications, Subaru North America, Rutgers University, Rowan University, and Virtua Hospital System. Delivered the city's first market-rate housing in 50 years through the Dranoff Victor development, and built the institutional infrastructure that made it all possible — growing organizational revenue 400% and staff to 80+.

$2B+
Investment catalyzed citywide
$200M+
Federal & state grants secured
400%
Organizational revenue growth
10 yrs
As President & CEO
Anchor Institution Partnership · Camden Waterfront
Philadelphia 76ers Training Facility
Originated the partnership and site development that brought the 76ers organization to Camden's Delaware waterfront — a defining moment in the city's transformation
Corporate Headquarters Attraction
L3 Communications, 76ers & Subaru North America
Drove the anchor corporate relocations and headquarters transactions — including the first market-rate housing in the city in 50 years — that defined Camden's economic transformation with thousands of jobs and long-term institutional commitment
Institutional Expansion & State Legislation
Rutgers, Rowan & Virtua Hospital System
Developed institutional master plans integrating university and healthcare expansion — and co-authored state legislation restructuring NJ's medical and higher education systems
Chapter 02
2018 — 2023 · Philadelphia, PA

Hahnemann & St. Christopher's —
Chapter 11 Navigation

American Academic Health System — VP, Real Estate & Development

Working alongside bankruptcy counsel and financial advisors, guided the safe physical closure of the Hahnemann University Hospital system through Chapter 11 — coordinating with state health regulators, local emergency services, and national regulatory agencies to responsibly decommission all equipment and materials. Managed workforce reductions across facilities, security, transport, environmental services, and parking operations. Supported the team in structuring the sale of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children to preserve it as a lasting community resource for Philadelphia, and assisted in the disposition of the Hahnemann University Hospital building for adaptive repurposed use.

2M SF
Healthcare portfolio closed
Zero
Safety incidents during closure
Preserved
St. Christopher's as community hospital
Physical Closure & Asset Disposition · Philadelphia · 2019–2022
Hahnemann University Hospital
Led the safe physical closure of Hahnemann — coordinating with state health regulators, local emergency services, and national agencies to responsibly decommission all equipment and materials, before supporting the disposition of the historic 230 N. Broad Street building for adaptive repurposed use
Preserved
Community Preservation · Structured Sale
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
Supported the team in structuring the sale of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children — helping preserve one of Philadelphia's oldest pediatric hospitals as a community resource rather than allowing it to be lost through the bankruptcy process
Chapter 03
2023 — Present · Glassboro, NJ

Rowan University
West Campus Activation

Rowan University — Vice Chancellor, Real Estate & Capital Projects

Inherited a 600-acre west campus dormant for two decades. Delivered New Jersey's first veterinary school and a new nursing school, and built two miles of new infrastructure to open the land for development. Identified and began structuring the public-private partnership and economic model for an Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing Center. Evaluated energy savings models across the university's portfolio — identifying efficiencies sufficient to finance critical infrastructure capital improvements without new appropriations. Structured the $850M+ Wellness Village P3 and built the university's first enterprise capital governance framework — replacing fragmented approvals with transparent, criteria-based decision-making that generated $25M in capital avoidance on a single project.

$850M+
Wellness Village P3
$120M+
Engineering Center P3 structured
$60M
Siemens energy contract
$2B+
Active capital portfolio
Rowan University · Glassboro, NJ
350AC
$200M
Historic First · New Jersey · Academic Capital Delivery
New Jersey's First Veterinary School
Delivered NJ's inaugural College of Veterinary Medicine — a $200M landmark academic achievement and the centerpiece of Rowan's west campus transformation
$24M
Academic Capital · Governance-Driven Cost Discipline
Rowan University School of Nursing
New state-of-the-art nursing school facility — delivered with capital governance that drove millions in cost avoidance through disciplined design validation
$850M
Public-Private Partnership · $850M+ · Fairmount Properties
Wellness Village — Mixed-Use P3
University-anchored mixed-use development integrating healthcare, wellness housing, medical office, hospitality & research — structured with layered tax credit monetization delivering ~25% net cost reduction, while securing the university an equity interest and ongoing lease payments that generate income on land that was formerly fallow and cost the university nothing to develop
Anthony J. Perno III
"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized."
— Daniel Burnham, architect & urban planner
"The discipline is in the execution."
— Anthony J. Perno III
About

Anthony J. Perno III, J.D.

For more than 25 years, Anthony Perno has been the person in the room responsible for what happened next — not the outside advisor, but the CEO, the VP, the principal accountable for the outcome. He has led organizations through crisis and growth, structured deals that required both political will and financial discipline, and built the institutional frameworks that turned complicated projects into executed ones.

As President & CEO of Cooper's Ferry Partnership in Camden for 10 years, he catalyzed $2 billion in public and private investment in one of the nation's most economically distressed cities — forging landmark partnerships with the Philadelphia 76ers, L3 Communications, Subaru North America, Rutgers University, Rowan University, and Dranoff Properties, including the city's first market-rate housing in 50 years.

At American Academic Health System, he led the safe physical closure of Hahnemann University Hospital through Chapter 11 — coordinating with state regulators, local emergency services, and national agencies to responsibly decommission the facility, while supporting the structured sale of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children to preserve it as a lasting community resource. At Rowan University, he activated a dormant 600-acre west campus, delivered New Jersey's first veterinary school and a new nursing school, evaluated energy savings models to finance critical infrastructure improvements without new appropriations, and structured the $850M+ Wellness Village P3 — securing the university an equity stake and ongoing income on land it didn't have to develop.

Education
J.D., Rutgers University School of Law
Reed Smith Clinical Excellence Award
B.A. Political Science, TCNJ
Truman Scholar — U.S. National Award
Bar Admissions
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Recognition
NJ Governor's Environmental Excellence Award
COSCDA National Sterling Achievement Award
NJ BIZ Top 40 Under 40
ULI University Development Council
Civic Service
Elected Councilman & Finance Committee Chair
Borough of Merchantville, NJ
Appointed to UMDNJ Commission, Governor Chris Christie
Volunteer Firefighter
Who We Serve

Built for the
Mission-Driven

AJP Associates is retained by organizations navigating the intersection of public purpose and private capital — where the stakes are high, the complexity is real, and conventional advisory is insufficient.

  • Municipal & county governments
  • Universities & community colleges
  • Health systems & academic medical centers
  • Nonprofit economic development corporations
  • Foundations & institutional grant funders
  • Mission-aligned developers & institutional investors
The AJP Difference

Anthony Perno has been the CEO, COO, and senior principal in the situations we advise on — not a consultant observing from the outside. He brings JD-trained legal and transactional discipline, 25+ years of institutional relationships, and the hard-won judgment that only comes from having been accountable for the outcome.


We focus exclusively on mission-directed development projects that are complicated, high-stakes, and consequential to the communities they serve. If the project is straightforward, there are plenty of advisors. If it's not, call us.

Contact

Let's Talk About
Your Project

"Strategy is easy to talk about. What's hard — and what matters — is knowing where it breaks down in practice. That only comes from having been the one responsible when it did."

Principal Anthony J. Perno III, J.D.
Email aperno@ajpassociates.com
Phone (856) 780-0564
Location Merchantville, NJ