Site of Future Camden Supermarket Gets City Council Blessing
By Mike DeNardo
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- The effort to build the first major supermarket in Camden in 30 years has taken a step forward.
Amid concerns about its location, plans for a new ShopRite supermarket on Admiral Wilson Boulevard are moving ahead.
Camden City Council has okayed a land transfer allowing the developer, Goldenberg Group, to begin negotiating a purchase price with Camden's Redevelopment Agency.
Residents say the site, Admiral Wilson Boulevard at 17th Street, won't be easy to get to on foot or by bus, but Goldenberg executive VP Jeremy Fogel says they're working on that.
"There are a number of existing routes that travel on Federal Street just behind our site. We're working with New Jersey Transit to modify some of those routes so they'll come directly into the shopping center," he said today.
In addition, they are hoping to get changes in bus routes from South Camden so a transfer at the Walter Rand Transportation Center won't be necessary.
For drivers, Fogel says, preliminary plans call for a deceleration lane off Admiral Wilson Boulevard to a 17th Street entrance.
Fogel predicts groundbreaking within a year, and completion in two years.
Camden County freeholder director Lou Cappelli says the 39-acre parcel will provide an economic boost for the area (see previous story).
"It's a piece of property that's underutilized, undeveloped," he said today, "and this project will breathe new life into that entire neighborhood."
