Editorial | Pennsauken Mart Property

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, December, 2006

The cast screams soap opera: Political boss, felon, immigrant merchants, clueless bureaucrats, slick developers, a down-on-its-luck town. The stakes, however, are far greater than Nielsen ratings (although this saga has real miniseries potential). It's the on-again, off-again attempt by Camden County to redevelop the derelict Pennsauken Mart property, at Routes 130, 73 and 90.

The county has bungled the project since it was envisioned in 2001 as an arena for a hockey team owned by Democratic boss George Norcross. As it evolved and shrunk, the project floundered. The goal was too focused on removing an "eyesore." The concept of creating a "gateway to Camden County" was ill-defined. The result is no new construction, and now the project is caught in a real estate downturn. The...