North Camden and its Neighborhood Plan made the papers at the end of January when New Jersey Governor John Corzine made the official announcement that Riverfront State Prison will be closing, perhaps as soon as summer 2009. The Prison’s relocation will free up 17 acres of real estate just north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Camden, a large parcel of land with spectacular views of the Philadelphia skyline and immense potential to spur reinvestment in the North Camden neighborhood, reinvent Camden’s Delaware River waterfront, and grow the City’s tax base through new mixed use development.
The Philadelphia Inquirer championed the “credible” Neighborhood Plan developed by Interface Studio for Save Our Waterfront, a local non-profit, and Cooper’s Ferry Development Association for documenting stakeholder visions and priorities for the future reuse of the site. We are thrilled to see that the plan continues to serve its purpose – with consensus reached in the community regarding coming change in North Camden, the plan can now provide inspiration and direction to catalyze such change.
In addition to publicity, the Neighborhood Plan has received compliments, support, and political backing from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), which has convened an inter-governmental group of local, county, state, and regional officials to start moving the plan forward. For us, it’s exciting to see the first major steps toward implementation being taken, and the next time we drive over the Ben Franklin, we’ll be sure to wave goodbye to the Prison and hello to a new day in North Camden.
