An Irish makeover for S. Jersey city

Gloucester City is not yet Dublin on the Delaware, but it's moving closer to its goal of creating an "Irish village" of businesses.

Last month, city officials named a developer to construct the commercial waterfront project.

This month, a 150-passenger cruise ship started operating from the town's former Coast Guard pier, where five restaurants are vying for the opportunity to locate.

Now, a schooner - symbol of the community's Irish maritime transformation - has been purchased by the city for $206,000 to act as a floating classroom and charter vessel.

It's being refurbished at Greenwich Marina in Greenwich Township, Cumberland County, and is expected to take its place in August.

"I see all the stars lining up to make this a really great place," said Howard Clark, director of community development and Urban Enterprise coordinator for Gloucester City.

"There will be shops, restaurants, entertainment, and recreation," Clark said. "This will be a destination."

City officials began planning a year ago to open the town's waterfront corridor to new businesses and celebrate the community's Irish heritage, said Mark Lohbauer of JGSC Group LLC, a Pennsauken economic consulting firm that is advising the city on the project.

At least 42 percent of the town's residents trace their ancestry to the Emerald Isle.

The makeover will be completed by Sora Holdings L.L.C., which plans to construct buildings typical of an Irish sea town on about 23 vacant lots. Sora is currently redeveloping Glassboro.

Bakeries, pubs, gifts shops, dining establishments and other retailers are being sought for the ground floor of the buildings, said Gloucester City officials. The second and third floors will contain residential units.

Local restaurants already are applying to occupy a place on the former Coast Guard Pier, now known as Freedom Pier.

But the schooner was the missing emblem of the town's renaissance until late last month, when city officials purchased the 10-year-old North Wind with federal grant money.

The two-masted vessel, which has a 75-foot steel hull, will help put the town on the map, officials said. The North Wind had been used by a nonprofit organization that provided educational programs for students who took trips out of Philadelphia.

Gloucester City is planning a renaming contest for the public to give the vessel an Irish name, Lohbauer said.

The schooner eventually will be decked out in lights to make it visible at night.

"But first it has to be sea-ready," said JGSC Group partner Joseph Getz, who is also advising the city. "The hull is being painted and the pier will be prepared with handrails and other improvements."

The schooner will share the pier with the Flagship VI, a cruise vessel that recently began making river excursions from Gloucester City.

A building on or near the pier may be used for maritime-skills classes and instruction leading to a sea captain's license, city officials said.

"There's a sense of excitement here now," Clark said. "Everything is moving forward. It's the luck of the Irish."