Rowan drops Camden construction plan
Rowan University has pulled out of a plan to construct an academic building that would double its presence in Camden and entitle it to $5 million in state money.
Rowan University has pulled out of a plan to construct an academic building that would double its presence in Camden and entitle it to $5 million in state money.
The Glassboro institution, expected to have a large role in Camden's downtown "university district" revitalization plan, said it remained committed to the city but would lease academic space instead.
Proponents of the university district, which is embodied in the 2002 state recovery law that brought $175 million to Camden, envision academic and medical institutions as the economic anchor for the city.
Despite the pullout, that vision may still be alive. Rutgers University-Camden, the largest higher-education institution in the city, is interested in building a graduate student dormitory on the Rowan property, which is bounded by Cooper, Market, Third and Fourth Streets.
Rutgers-Camden may also be eligible for the $5 million in state money that Rowan would have gotten.
"We would certainly like to create a facility for 300 graduate beds," said Larry Gaines, Rutgers-Camden vice chancellor. "If we could do it on that site, that would be nice, but there's a long way between here and there."
A 40-year resident and civic activist, Frank Fulbrook, said he believed Rutgers-Camden could save the plan.
"If Rutgers builds new student housing at Fourth and Cooper in place of the Rowan project, then that will be OK with me," he said. "It'll boost the local economy commercially."
Rowan, which leases space in the city from Camden County College, cited skyrocketing construction costs and the fact that the Camden Redevelopment Agency had acquired only 17 of the 21 properties that would have to be removed before construction.
The agency's two-year contract with Rowan to buy the properties expired July 1 before all the acquisitions were complete.
"There's a host of things that can be done" on the property, said Carrie Turner, assistant director for the Camden Redevelopment Agency. "I'm sure we would look to maximize the site for its proximity to all the amenities that are downtown."
A new owner would first have to reimburse Rowan for the $4.2 million it paid for the acquisitions.
"Rowan can better serve the city of Camden and the surrounding communities not by focusing on the construction of a new building, but instead by leasing existing space as needed, allowing us to increase academic offerings and grow enrollment in a more manageable way," Rowan president Donald J. Farish wrote yesterday in a letter to the university community.
Rowan's initial plans called for a 50,000-square-foot building that would let it double its Camden enrollment to 1,000.
But plans hit a snag after they were announced in 2003. Business owners launched a petition drive to protect their properties from acquisition.
One such business, Slice of N.Y. Pizzeria on Third Street, survived.
Owner Peter Toso said yesterday that although foot traffic in the neighborhood had increased as Rutgers expanded, the arrival of a dorm would be "phenomenal" for the community.
"It should make a dramatic impact on us," he said. "Hopefully it will spawn some other businesses around here. The scary thing is this has been in the works for six years."
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