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COVER STORY, MAY 2005
ON THE WATERFRONT
Steiner + Associates new Cooper’s Crossing mixed-use project is reshaping the Camden, New Jersey, waterfront.
Kevin Jeselnik
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Steiner + Associate’s Cooper’s Crossing (foreground) is underway in Camden, New Jersey, just across the Delaware River from downtown Philadelphia.
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In 2003, Steiner + Associates was enlisted by the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority to renovate and expand the New Jersey Aquarium on the waterfront in Camden, New Jersey. During planning for the project, Steiner discovered what it believed was an opportunity to convert a neglected and underutilized area in a prime location into a complete live-work-play environment.
“We started this project with the idea of redeveloping and expanding the current aquarium facility. As we got into it, we felt it was important to make sure it wasn’t just about visiting the aquarium on the Camden waterfront, but about creating an overall experience,” says Barry Rosenberg, principal and president of Columbus, Ohio-based Steiner + Associates. It was from this desire to establish the Camden waterfront as a destination that Cooper’s Crossing, Steiner’s expansive mixed-use project featuring office, residential and entertainment uses, was formed.
Located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Camden has long been mired in economic troubles. Unemployment among the city’s 87,500 residents has been significantly higher than the national average and the city’s population has declined steadily for several years. In 2002, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) created the Economic Recovery Board (ERB) to enact a capital improvement and infrastructure master plan and strategic revitalization plan to turn around one of New Jersey’s poorest cities.
“The state of New Jersey is investing $175 million into the city of Camden through the ERB, which is doing everything from putting in infrastructure work, upgrading the schools and working with multiple residential builders to develop different types of residences throughout the city,” says Rosenberg.
Once Steiner committed to spearheading the development of the entire 35-acre tract that comprises the Camden waterfront, the company established a master plan. With the infrastructure in place and with numerous incentives and credits from the NJEDA, Steiner set out to evaluate the best use for the site.
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Though the Ben Franklin Bridge is in close proximity, residents, workers and visitors to Cooper’s Crossing will have direct access to Philadelphia via a cable car transit system that is under construction. The tram connects the Camden waterfront to Penn’s Landing across the river in Philadelphia and is expected to be operational in early 2007.
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“ We did a residential study that leads us to believe that, ultimately, we can develop close to 1,200 residential units,” explains Rosenberg. “We feel that there is also a market for office tenants, not necessarily for large amounts of speculative development, but for the relocation of company headquarters and branch offices, mainly because we think that the transportation infrastructure in Camden is quite strong. And there is also a strong incentive package that the state of New Jersey has put together to attract quality companies to the site.”
The entire project is expected to be a 10-year undertaking, and when completed the total cost will be between $400 million and $500 million. The aquarium, which has been renamed Adventure Aquarium, will reopen this month, and Steiner is readying for the development of the project’s first office building. The 103,650-square-foot Ferry Terminal Building is set to begin construction early this summer. Consisting of 83,100 square feet of office space on the second through fourth floors, the Ferry Terminal Building will offer the same amenities as offices in Philadelphia, but at more reasonable rents and with the benefit of New Jersey’s multiple incentive packages. The building’s ground floor will be feature 18,450 square feet of restaurant space and 2,100 square feet for retail use. Completion is expected in May of 2006. According to Rosenberg, Steiner is currently in discussion with two or three other office tenants that are looking at developing build-to-suit office properties of approximately 100,000 square feet on site and Susquehanna Bank has already committed to relocate its corporate headquarters to Cooper’s Crossing. Rosenberg believes that interest will pick up once companies see the initial tenants move into the area and the community takes shape.
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Situated on 34 acres along the Delaware River in Camden, Cooper’s Crossing will feature a mix of build-to-suit office space, residential development and ancillary retail, directly across the river from Philadelphia.
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The residential element is being designed to attract people to the area that was long home only to industrial buildings and vacant lots. Steiner has partnered with Dranoff Properties to develop the multifamily component. A set of buildings that once served as RCA Victor’s headquarters are being converted to residences. The Victor, a $65 million, 341-unit loft building, was completed in 2004 and is already occupied. It was once the manufacturing facility for RCA’s Victor Talking Machines. Another former RCA building adjacent to The Victor is being developed into a $22 million, 99-unit property called the Radio Lofts. In 2005, Steiner expects to have approximately 150 additional units come on line.
Steiner expects to develop the retail as support to the growing business and residential population that will soon inhabit the waterfront. “In the Ferry Terminal Building, we are looking at two or three signature restaurants to occupy the first floor,” says Rosenberg. “What we really see for the retail component is more ancillary retail that will support the office and residential components, as opposed to a true shopping destination. There might be a market, a dry cleaners and other convenience retail.”
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The Ferry Terminal Building will be the first office facility completed in Cooper’s Crossing. The 103,650-square-foot building will feature 83,100 square feet of office space as well as ground-floor space designated for 2,100 square feet of retail space and multiple restaurants.
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Rosenberg believes that this development, along with the other improvements occurring along the waterfront, will change the face of the city. “What you’re seeing is the idea of marketing the area as one waterfront. So instead of looking at it as the Philadelphia waterfront and the Camden waterfront, this development will bring the two sides closer together,” he adds. A key factor in joining the two cities together is a cable car transit system that will transport individuals over the river from one city to the other, connecting at Penn’s Landing on the Philadelphia side.
“Part of the tram has already been built, to the tune of $15 million. On both sides, in Cooper’s Crossing and in Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia, the piles and the towers for the tram are in place,” Rosenberg says. “The Delaware River Port Authority is spending approximately $2 million to complete the design work and the tram should be built and operational by early 2007.”
Though now only in the earliest stages of development, Cooper’s Crossing stands to play a pivotal role in the economic revitalization of the city of Camden and in bridging two divergent cities into a unified waterfront.
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