From the Courier Post Online:
The Camden County Improvement Authority has been unable to seal a redevelopment deal with a national developer for 10 months to transform the nearly vacant Pennsauken Mart site into a neighborhood of 700 homes and shops.
Today, the authority, which owns the former Mart site, is expected to give developer Beazer Homes a 30-day extension, county spokesman Ken Shuttleworth said.
Beazer’s latest deadline expired Wednesday.
Now that the economy has pitched real estate into a down market, county officials are hoping this third and last bit of wiggle room will produce a bankable partnership. Talks will continue, even though it has been reported that developers across the country are paying penalties to leave projects that no longer make economic sense in the current climate.
The authority acquired the Mart two years ago through eminent domain and displaced about 100 merchants in January when it closed the 50-year-old emporium.
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“The county has been paying interest on $35 million in bond anticipation notes for three years. It took away 500 jobs and years worth of property tax to Pennsauken. And what did we get? A weed-choked parking lot and a deep hole of debt. If the authority’s board members put together a lose-lose deal like this in the private sector, they’d be fired in a minute,” Hanley said.In August, the authority paid nearly $1.5 million in interest on the notes. With interest rates on the rise, next year it expects to pay $2 million.
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To date, the authority has spent $25.7 million on the project, including $652,157 in legal fees, said James Blanda, the Authority’s CFO.The improvement authority’s goal has been to sell the 35-acre site, at the intersection of routes 73, 90 and 130 to Atlanta-based Beazer for $20 million. It chose Beazer over three competitors because the developer promised a mix of condos and town houses, valued at $200 million. The winning plan also called for a performance theater, artisan studios and a man-made lake.
In May, Jeffrey Swartz, the authority’s executive director, said the unresolved issues were the cost of the land, the number of low and moderate-income housing units, financing for a possible 150-to-200-room hotel and a construction timetable.
Beazer also expects the county to deliver the land cleared, buildable and free of all environmental liabilities.
i know this location well. it is in a pretty low cost, dense area, but a terrific location. next to Turnpike. 15 min to Philly. Down the road from 2 malls.
when they get their act together i think this could still be, in any market, a decent investment.
A decent investment for Beazer, if they can retain the upper hand in this deal.
jb
Let me get this straight:
“The county has been paying interest on $35 million in bond anticipation notes for three years.”
“To date, the authority has spent $25.7 million on the project,”
“The improvement authority’s goal has been to sell the 35-acre site, … for $20 million.”
This isn’t just stupid, it’s criminally stupid. Every official involved in this deal belongs in jail.