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READER FEEDBACK

Camden recovery aids some

Other areas and agencies, though, have had no share in state funding.

By Matt Katz

Inquirer Staff Writer

Third of four parts

James Reilly sips morning coffee on his new front porch so he can watch the sunrise glow upon the looming Ben Franklin Bridge.

On the weekends, the 34-year-old Manayunk transplant and his new wife, Maria Nasidka, play tennis at the courts across the street and go for long runs along the Delaware River. They organize friends for coed football games at the nearby Rutgers University fields and walk to minor-league Riversharks games. Then they return home to three bedrooms, four bathrooms, 2,300 square feet, and a backyard of suburban proportions.

All this, in Camden - a city with one of the worst reputations in America - for the bargain price of $217,000 and the cheapest property taxes around.

These newlyweds are a rare realization of the vision set forth in the 2002 recovery law that put Camden City government under state control and funneled $175 million in bonds and loans to the city.

Although the law said market-rate housing to accommodate middle-class people was "critical," things didn't work out that way. Most of the $48 million appropriated to residential projects was targeted to low-income renters.

"The ratio is skewed; too much is going to affordable housing," acknowledged Theodore Z. Davis, the former Camden chief operating officer. "You'll never grow."

The newlyweds' community is a remarkable exception, and it shows the potential that the city has for middle-class growth.

Their home is part of a $10.4 million, 18-home middle-income housing project funded with $1.2 million from the Camden recovery fund. The theory? Offering $100,000 home subsidies could entice employed professionals to a city that has lost middle-class families since the 1950s.

"I could never have imagined the peace of mind I have being here," Reilly said. "I love living here."

He's awestruck over the community feel - with an active neighborhood e-mail chain, a recent mayoral candidates' forum, and a neighbor's generosity in lending a power tool.

"It's so personal," he said of his neighbors. "It's almost like [Camden] is their baby that they're rooting for."

The homes between Rutgers-Camden and the waterfront sold almost as soon as they hit the market last winter. "Middle-income people will pay a premium to get a good house in a good neighborhood in Camden," said Frank Fulbrook of the Cooper Grant Neighborhood Association, which developed the project with Pennrose Properties.

Each property was subsidized by about a third, with a 10-year residency requirement. Plus, for each of the first 15 years, the newlyweds will pay a "service charge" of about $4,340 instead of taxes. That's three times less than the taxes of some of their suburban neighbors.

This money only goes to the city's coffers, and not the schools' or the county's, but it's an effective enticement for buyers.

Such recovery-funded enticements are also used for businesses, and they helped to bring both a new Rita's Water Ice to the neighborhood and Victor's Pub, the city's nicest bar, which has built a lunch crowd with workers from the waterfront offices.

This slow uptick in improvements has stoked new residents' enthusiasm and helped strengthen their commitment to Camden - even if people who live in Cherry Hill say they're "crazy" for moving to a city known as one of the country's poorest and most dangerous.

"I always have to give them a pitch to tell them what it's all about," Nasidka said, gushing about biking to Philadelphia and walking to shows at Wiggins Park and Susquehanna Bank Center.

There's no nearby supermarket, but, they say, they would have to drive to a market if they lived in Mount Laurel, too.

A few blocks north is an active drug area, but, Nasidka said, "If you're in Rittenhouse and go a couple of blocks in the wrong direction, you're not in such a good neighborhood, either."

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Comments

Posted 10:03 AM, 11/10/2009

Leegles

From Camden, it's impossible to watch the sun RISE over the Ben Franklin bridge. You could watch the morning sun light up the bridge and the buildings in Philly, but the sun itself would be behind you.

Posted 10:09 AM, 11/10/2009

Flyers-Losers for 35 years

Place is a toilet. Ask those that bought in during the housing boom expecting that their area would be revitalized. Nothing like living in a city where you are in peril if you walk 3 blocks away from your home.

Posted 10:13 AM, 11/10/2009

MBFlyerfan

"All this, in Camden - a city with one of the worst reputations in America - for the bargain price of $217,000 and the cheapest property taxes around." All while the rest of us in Camden County subsidize this hole in the earth with the highest property taxes in New Jersey. Give me a break.

Posted 10:44 AM, 11/10/2009

Lori T.

Couldn't pay me to move there.

Posted 10:45 AM, 11/10/2009

CommonSenze

The writer is thoroughly discounting the effect of the 60's race riots on modern Camden. Even though some manufacturing had gone before then, it was still a pretty good place to live. The riots resulted not only in "white flight", but in MOST working class families clearing out of Dodge. This left mainly the poor, and unfortunately a good amount of the criminal-minded. Camden's problem now is lack of private investmant - there are just no jobs. The cause is the astronomically high crime rate - when the basic Rule of Law is not upheld, you can pretty much forget any new businesses moving in. Instead of throwing $$ at the Aquarium, law enforcement has to expand in order to clean up the streets and put an end to the rampant thuggery. Then, and only then, will capital start trickling into Camden. This is a politically incorrect solution, but probably the only one that would work.

Posted 11:08 AM, 11/10/2009

mattk

do guys really still wear bathrobes?

Posted 11:44 AM, 11/10/2009

jeffchrz

How can something be "three times less" than something else? Is this bad math, bad writing, bad editing, or all three?

Posted 03:13 PM, 11/10/2009

NDJ

Cities have risen and fallen through out the age of man. It is absurd to think that Camden can not be "fixed", as a safe and productive place to live and work. Camden needs to play into its proximity to Philadelphia, much like Hoboken (or Brooklyn) does to New York. It needs to market itself as a cheaper, hipper "borough", attracting young, educated professionals and families. Invest in basic infrastructure, i.e. sewers, utilities, sidewalks. Focus on transit oriented development, starting with the waterfront (which is actually accessible), then continuing east. Camden needs to boost its numbers of residents and visitors, which will increase its tax base and contribute to local spending. Develop and attract charter and magnet schools. What Camden truly needs are visionaries that are committed to its rebirth.

Posted 08:44 PM, 11/10/2009

albertpa

NDJ... thank you for stopping the hate that flows from these threads and inserting something rational, plausible and positive.

Posted 09:43 PM, 11/10/2009

Gilliam

Camden can't be like Brooklyn because Camden is in New Jersey.

Posted 10:13 PM, 11/10/2009

StraightottaPhilly

Who would want to raise kids in Camden? That is the bottom line to young married home shoppers....

Posted 12:55 PM, 11/13/2009

Realist82

NDJ: You are absolutely right. There is unlimited potential in Camden. I just wish I had the money to be one of those 'visionaries'. I truly believe that in twenty years the city will be desirable. I just hope that developers respect the historic properties that are still standing in Camden by renovating them instead of tearing them down. There is some beautiful architecture in Camden. FYI: Walt Whitman's house is a nice afternoon trip.