[allovertown]

Originally Posted by josef

Just passed through Camden on my way in to work and got a few shots of some things being done. The renovation of some buildings across from the Cooper Rowan medical school on Broadway ("$17M residential development coming to Camden, after $6.2M in tax credits") is going ahead:





Their rendering:



And the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy at Lanning Square charter/rennaissance/whatever school is coming along.



Their rendering:

I actually participated in a run that went through Camden not that long ago. It was really the first time I'd seen any of Camden besides the water front and I was shocked by the sheer number of beautiful old rowhomes in the city that were still in reasonably good condition, complete with intact cornices and woodwork detailing on front porches, etc.

Fixing Camden had always seemed like such an immense proposition that it's hard to really wrap your head around it. But running through some of those neighborhoods made in clear that in some sections of the city just a minimal amount of investment, a few fresh coats of paint and you could really have a beautiful little neighborhood. It's nice to see that slowly but surely this is beginning to happen and some investment is being made to restore some of the great housing stock in Camden.

Camden still of course has a multitude of problems. But a project like this in conjunction with the Cambell's project, the sixers project, etc can really have an impact. It's still a long road, but there's seemingly at least a light at the end of the tunnel now and with its proximity to center city and its transit access, I'm staring to feel as though Camden's eventual turn around is almost inevitable.