Stores, offices, and restaurants may soon appear on a mostly vacant block in downtown Camden, resurrecting a retail corridor that vanished years ago.
The Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors has approached city and county officials about buying a series of parcels on South Broadway with the goal of attracting lunchtime spots and other services for residents and the neighborhood’s daytime workers. The site between Berkley and Clinton Streets sits across from the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy and is several blocks from Cooper University Hospital and the area where Rutgers is building a “health sciences” campus that includes a Joint Health Sciences Center and related buildings.
“The Renaissance of Broadway is an idea that we think will take shape as, block by block, buildings get renovated and new buildings get built,” said Kris Kolluri, CEO of the board.
The joint board, which was tasked with overseeing health sciences projects in Camden and recommending new programs, would buy the land from the Camden Redevelopment Agency, which owns most of the seven parcels on the block. The CRA has appointed the Camden County Improvement Authority to develop the land. Once built, Kolluri said, the board would lease the space to any businesses interested in moving in.