Even as there are legitimate signs that private investment is being attracted to downtown Camden (see Kevin Shelly’s piece on 121 Market Street — which has potential buyers without subsidies) there are signs that this development will be fractured and existing residents will turn out losers. In particular, the use of eminent domain with property owners along Broadway shows the dangers of investing in Camden and the way that politically connected entities in the city can use powers granted by the state to ensure they are the beneficiaries of investment. And yes. That includes Rutgers.
Take, for example, this recent story by Jim Walsh on the use of eminent domain on Broadway businesses to make room for a second phase of the health sciences complex:
The board wants to develop a second phase across the street, where it already has bought two properties through negotiations, said Kris Kolluri, the panel’s chief executive officer
“Our objective is to build a comprehensive ‘eds and meds’ corridor,” Kolluri said of the project, which would extend between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Stevens Street from 5th Street to 6th Street.
The storefronts’ owners have held the properties for decades in the hope of one day seeing a revival in downtown Camden, said their attorney Timothy Duggan of Lawrenceville.
Duggan’s clients “understand the need for redevelopment” but are “frustrated” at having to sell their land before the revitalization occurs.
“Unfortunately, we’re fairly far apart on value,” Duggan said.
According to the eminent domain suits, the board has offered a total of $1.9 million to In Chung Choi and Young Ai Choi, who own storefronts that hold two clothing shops, a check-cashing business, a cell-phone store, a jewelry shop and a pharmacy.
Now, the incentives in these cases are tricky. There’s not a lot of incentives here for local business to sell, since they know the Rutgers-Rowan board badly wants the property. But the other side of this is compelling too. Imagine holding this property for years, investing in a difficult area — there are finally signs of life downtown (and a potential payday) and you are subject to eminent domain?
Without diving too deeply into this case, it contributes to part of a troubling trend of local residents and business owners being locked out of new development. The Economic Opportunity Act specifically focused on firms saving or creating more than 50 jobs — locking small-business owners out of these funds. The massive subsidies to corporations (often with connections to local politicians) look less like corporate welfare if local, small-business owners had their own opportunities to benefit.
The power to grant eminent domain to the Rutgers-Rowan board was controversial at the time, and came with assurances that it would be rarely and transparently used. Here’s Gov. Christie denying he even knew that the power to use eminent domain was in the bill. While Dr. Howard Gillette was generally supportive of the legislation creating the Rutgers-Rowan Board, he warned specifically of this situation:
Because the legislature has granted the board powers of eminent domain and because the by-laws as passed today give the chair virtually unlimited powers to enter into contracts, there is reason to be wary about the board’s intentions. Jack Collins assured his audience, including board member Robert Mortensen who questioned the chair’s designated powers, that there would be modifications in the bylaws to assure board review of operational matters and transparency in its actions.
Notice how different that assurance reads from the current boards’ explanation of its use of eminent domain:
“We are using the tools available to acquire property,” said Kolluri.
Eminent domain started as a failsafe, now it’s an available tool to acquire property.
As Camden’s redevelopment seems to be gaining momentum (with the usual caveats about where/why), it’s important to continually ask who will get to share in the profits. If the answer is those who have power, those who can assure they have state-granted subsidies or state-granted power, that’s extremely troubling. A revitalized Camden that leaves behind its residents and its small business owners is no Camden at all.
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Camden has such an opportunity to do this better than cities who have gone before us. I hate to see it squandered by greed. There is enough redevelopment opportunity to go around and it is the responsibility of the advantaged to lift up others, not beat them down or bat them away with cash settlements. If the cash is what you’ve been waiting for all along, then now’s your chance! But if you’ve been holding on to your business in anticipation of what it appears is finally on the horizon (and in the meantime providing residents like me with services that we would otherwise have to leave town for) then it would be a huge loss to see you turned away or “bought out” in the name of progress. Besides, what’s “eds and meds” with out a local coffee shop, a colorful restaurant, and a familiar face behind the counter? If nothing else, let’s prevent downtown from “growing up” and getting boring. Please. Thanks.
Rutgers has been a very poor “neighbor” to the City of Camden and to those who enjoy, respect and protect the city’s historic fabric. Promises not kept; demolition by neglect; seemingly wanton destruction of architectural gems in the name of progress, replaced with uninspired and tedious modern buildings with little thought given to the surrounding historic buildings; and even supporting facadism. The Wilson Eyre house is a prime example of Rutgers approach to Camden. Purchased by the university in 2000 and then allowed to deteriorate without any maintenance efforts for the ensuing 14 years until someone thought it could be used as a writers’ center. Roofing tile loss, brick decay and a whole host of other issues faced the contractors retained to complete the rehab. Instead of maintaining the original fabric, the contractor had to find vendors for modern replacements in attempt to replicate what should have been preserved. Respect the city’s rich history, Rutgers, and be the neighbor you should have always been!
As a Rutgers-Camden graduate I remember back in my time there was a leaked master plan that had the University virtually building all over the Cooper-Grant community. Renewal in Camden has been haphazard, uneven and unfulfilled. This time it appears to be the real deal and unfortunately there will be casualties. Hopefully as the downtown and waterfront changes those casualties will be limited.