Hundreds of Camden's eyesores demolished, but more remain

Camden City and Camden County leaders announced Thursday that a project to demolish almost 600 of the most blighted properties in the city is more than 85 percent complete, meaning it will be done within months of the timeline set two years ago.

A year ago, officials had just started from scratch on the ambitious plan. First launched in October 2014, the project had been delayed for months because city officials struggled with drafting the contracts needed for companies to take on the work, and eventually the county stepped in to oversee the job.

As Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd, flanked by representatives of the county, the city, law enforcement, and the business community, announced the update Thursday at a news conference in the city's Gateway section, a handful of people clapped hesitantly.

"Yes," Redd said, "that is worthy of applause."

Redd pledged at the start of her second term to raze the crumbling buildings scattered throughout the city. There's no section of Camden without empty or abandoned properties, and the houses attract drug users, prostitution, and crime.

"It is my hope that with these units gone, our residents can fully enjoy our city's parks and open spaces," Redd said.

About 60 houses remain standing out of the 596 that were identified as the worst in the city, but the extent of blight in Camden is far greater than the houses tackled in the demolition project. A 2014 survey by the nonprofit group CamConnect identified 3,417 deserted structures, close to 15 percent of the nine-square-mile city's buildings, as well as 8,000-odd vacant lots.

Before the project was underway, the city razed buildings only when acting on recommendations from the code enforcement department. It did not keep a full list of abandoned properties until after 2008, when Redd took office.

The demolition plan stalled last winter when city officials stumbled in locking in companies to perform the work. Numerous problems arose with contracts issued in the bidding process, such as concerns over the terms of asbestos removal and the disconnection of utilities, and several companies walked away from the project. The county, which had been a partner in the project, took over in March 2015 and put the contracts back out to bid, rewriting them in some cases.

Some community members have questioned why unemployed city residents were not hired to do the work, though county officials said Thursday that they used local suppliers and local businesses when possible, and employed six Camden businesses with Camden employees as subcontractors.

Generally, neighbors are thrilled to see the houses go down. Rosetta Harris, 54, a lifelong Camden resident who lives down the street from where the news conference took place Thursday, said she lived next to dilapidated houses in her old neighborhood, Centerville. Now she lives next to another abandoned house, one where she sometimes sees people slipping in and out.

"I wish they'd tear that one down," she said. "People were setting vacant houses on fire a while ago, that's my big concern."

Everyone she knew was surprised when the demolition crews started showing up in the neighborhood, she said.

"We couldn't believe it was happening. These houses have been here for years," she said. "But Dana, she's doing her thing. She's making the city better."

Other residents have wondered what the long-term possibilities may be for so many new empty lots, particularly those that sit between occupied houses. On Thursday, Redd said the city would work to attract contractors who could develop some of the land as affordable housing and look at other options such as creating green spaces and community gardens.

"Now they're gone, now we have a future where we can rebuild," City Council President Frank Moran said.

asteele@phillynews.com 856-779-3876 @AESteele