New life for a South Jersey waterfront? | Real Estate Newsletter

Lights, camera, development?

Turns out we could’ve had our own version of Hollywood in South Jersey.

At least that was the plan from a developer with a big imagination who looked at Gloucester City’s abandoned industrial sites and saw the perfect spot for TV studios and movie theaters.

But that was back in 1985. Over the decades, a parade of abandoned plans to redevelop the city’s waterfront and long-vacant pier have made residents jaded. Now, there’s a new proposal for 300-plus apartments.

Will this time be different? Keep scrolling for that story and to read about a heated legal battle between a top regional real estate developer and Camden officials, and learn gardening tricks for people who live in rowhouses.

📮 Since summer is unofficially over, I want to know: How do you get your home ready for fall? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me.

— Michaelle Bond

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Over the last four decades, these are just a few of the ideas to redevelop Gloucester City’s Delaware River waterfront that never got off the ground:

🎬 the plan to turn Gloucester into “Hollywood East.”

🍻 a location for the Ott’s bar and grill chain.

♻️ what might have been the first organic waste-to-energy/compost recycling facility in the country.

🏘️ a development with hundreds of homes and a marina for hundreds of boats.

The latest plan is for 364 apartments in two buildings along Freedom Pier.

“Over the years, other proposals have not come to fruition,” the South Jersey city’s mayor said. “But we believe this project will help transform the city.”

A local resident and journalist who has been following plans for the site over the years told my colleague that he won’t believe the apartments are actually coming “until I see the shovels, and the dirt actually being dug.”

Officials think the city has a lot going for it now. Last year, a real estate website called Gloucester City “the cheapest place to live” in my expensive home state. Apartment and condo developers have taken second looks at old South Jersey cities such as Burlington, where I grew up.

Read on for more about Gloucester City’s past, what could be in its future, and why some residents don’t want the proposed apartments.

One of South Jersey’s most heated legal battles has been settled.

Over the last five years, Philly developer Carl Dranoff, one of the region’s biggest names in real estate development, has been fighting in court with Camden officials who are allied with power broker George Norcross.

Now, city officials have announced a settlement they say would bring millions of dollars to the city.

The issue at the center of the case: tax payments on luxury apartments that Dranoff developed at a formerly blighted property on the waterfront two decades ago.

In a statement, Camden’s mayor bashed Dranoff, saying he pretended to be part of the city’s revitalization efforts but was in it for the money.

In an answering statement, Dranoff called out “ongoing corruption in Camden” and said people who disagree with Norcross get bullied “with frivolous lawsuits and unjust tax bills and accusations.”

Keep reading for details of legal battles and the settlement, and learn why the two sides are still fighting.

When I lived in a Center City rowhouse a few years ago, I had big plans. I would hang garden boxes and grow flowers. I’d get mums for the front stoop during the fall. Maybe I’d grow herbs and vegetables in pots on the side concrete patio.

I did none of that. (Although some pots of dirt I left outside magically sprouted weeds. They got pretty tall.)

Even for people with the motivation I didn’t have, gardening while living in a rowhouse can be a challenge.

Space is limited. You might not get enough light. If you have soil, it may be filled with debris or contain lead or other hazardous materials.

An associate director at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society says rowhouse residents shouldn’t be discouraged and just need to figure out what to grow “given the hand you’ve been dealt.”

Experts shared advice with us on how to get started, keep costs down, and avoid getting overwhelmed.

Read on for tips and tricks for growing a garden when you live in a rowhouse.

Almost a year after a ceremonial groundbreaking in North Philly, construction still hasn’t started on a $37.5 million project that was supposed to open in spring 2024.

Question: What is supposed to be going up on North Broad Street near Callowhill Street?

A) a new office tower for Chubb, the international insurance giant

B) Philadelphia Ballet’s new headquarters

C) a new location for the Mütter Museum

D) a 200-unit condo tower

This story has the answer.

Do you know what is being built in Philadelphia in this photo?

📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your experiences visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.

Shout out to Maureen D., who knew that last week’s photo was taken on Fletcher Street, outside the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club.

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A national property search portal called Point2 analyzed Google searches for real estate-related keywords to see where Americans are interested in buying properties.

So what are the top three locations in the Americas?

The No. 1 spot goes to our southern neighbor, Mexico. Our neighbor to the north, Canada, takes the No. 2 spot. No. 3 is Costa Rica. I visited the country on vacation for the first time in June, and I can see why people would want to live there. I didn’t want to leave.

Enjoy the rest of your week.