Evesham lists 3 sites for possible condemnation

They might not fit Camden's or Newark's notion of "blight," but Evesham has officially identified three neglected commercial properties for possible condemnation under its new redevelopment plan.

The township also identified a dozen other properties as candidates for "rehabilitation," which entails no condemnation. Properties on both lists will be eligible for long-term tax incentives to encourage their improvement.

The three long-vacant properties identified for "redevelopment with eminent domain option" are Olga's Diner at the intersection of Routes 70 and 73; Tri-Towne Plaza, east of Olga's on Route 70; and the former G-Boys Garden & Christmas Center to its west.

The Township Council approved the two lists at its meeting last Tuesday. Both were prepared by the local planning board after a series of hearings in the spring.

Tri-Towne Plaza is not taking kindly to its redevelopment designation, however.

Attorney Richard Hoff, who represents the site-management company that operates Tri-Towne, told the council on Tuesday his client does "not believe a designation is necessary" and urged it to delete the mall from the list.

The Tri-Towne site includes a strip mall containing several small stores and is anchored by a long-vacant, 96,000-square-foot store that began life as a Kmart in the 1970s and later became a Sears outlet.

The mall's other anchor, a 35,000-square-foot SuperFresh supermarket, closed in January.

Hoff told the council that his client, the site-management firm RD Management L.L.C. of New York City, has had meetings recently with prospective clients and was "preparing a site plan application." He urged the township not to include the property in the redevelopment plan.

Mayor Randy Brown told Hoff that his position was "180 degrees opposite" because RD had too often assured the township it was about to turn Tri-Towne around but never has.

"Fool me once, shame on you," Brown told Hoff. "Fool me twice, shame on me."

The council then voted, 3-0, to approve the planning board's complete list.

"Can I vote 100 times?" Brown joked afterward.

Brown later explained his remarks, saying that RD had "invested zero dollars" in Tri-Towne over the years, and that its representatives had "lied to me numerous times" and made "constant false promises."

"They have zero interest in what's best for Evesham," Brown said. "Their site is and has been an eyesore, an embarrassment to the community, and their organization is 100 percent at fault."

"I had face-to-face meetings with them when I came on [as mayor] in 2007, and again in 2010," he said. "They showed me renderings of what they were going to do, and then they called me every year to say, 'This is what's going to happen - we guarantee.' But nothing ever did."

The lavishly landscaped Promenade shopping center on Route 73 in Evesham "has no trouble getting tenants," Brown wrote, because its owners have made it attractive, but "RD management doesn't belong in Evesham."

Reached at his Haddonfield office, Hoff, a land-use lawyer who has only recently begun to represent RD, said his client would have no comment.

Although eminent domain is an option under a redevelopment plan, "that's not the goal," said Evesham's community development director, Nancy Jamanow.

The township's intent is to encourage property owners to improve their sites or bring in developers who will. If they don't, she said, the township is empowered under state redevelopment law to do so against the owner's will.

A municipality can offer 30-year tax abatements to properties under redevelopment, and five-year abatements to those under rehabilitation.

John Stavros, owner of Olga's Diner, could not be reached for comment last week. The longtime landmark, which has been vacant and deteriorating for a half-decade, also is listed for "redevelopment with eminent domain option."

Positioned prominently on the former Marlton Circle, the diner was a popular destination for decades until the New Jersey Department of Transportation began work to replace the circle with an overpass.

Its big red signs are falling down, weeds line its parking lot, and vandals have spray-painted graffiti on its interior.

Stavros has blamed the restaurant's decline and closure on what he called poor access from the redesigned interchange. The property was for sale "for the right price," he told The Inquirer in December, but declined to say what he was asking.

In December, Joseph Ridolfi of Ridolfi & Associates L.L.C., a Trenton-based commercial real estate firm representing the former G-Boys site, said he had "a couple of potential buyers" and was confident it would never be part of the township's redevelopment plan because its owners, the Gaudio family, "want to move it quickly."

The "for sale" signs still sit outside, however. "We haven't heard anything from them to say somebody bought it," Jamanow said last week. Ridolfi did not return a call asking for comment.

Also identified for redevelopment, with long-term tax abatements but without the eminent domain option, is a cluster of parcels on Route 70 near Medford owned by members of the Aristone family.

The properties and parcels designated for rehabilitation are:

The vacant Beneficial Bank and adjacent Harvest House furniture store on Main Street.

An undeveloped parcel on Route 70 called Icon Plaza, and the adjacent, vacated Scooters skating on Evesboro Road.

Five properties close to Olga's Diner, which may be affected by any improvement to the diner property. These include two vacant house-type offices.

Two vacant office buildings near the former Borders shopping plaza on Route 70.

Numerous one-story office buildings having various owners in the Greentree office park near Greentree Road and Route 70, and the adjacent Rizzieri's beauty salon.

"Now the next step is to prepare an actual redevelopment plan or rehabilitation plan for each property," Jamanow said. The plans will be consistent with the township's "vision study" completed several years ago and its comprehensive master plan.

The individual plans will likely take several months, Jamanow said.