New life for old Pennsauken Mart: Luxury apartments where bargain hunters roamed

The old Pennsauken Mart site, once a popular haunt for bargain-hunting South Jersey shoppers, will soon have new tenants. This time, apartment dwellers, not merchants, will give life to the site.

A redevelopment plan began to unfold Wednesday that will convert the long-vacant, 35-acre lot at Routes 130 and 73 into luxury apartments designed to attract millennials. Construction in the first phase, which calls for 240 units in 10 buildings, is expected to begin in a few weeks.

"This is a momentous occasion," Pennsauken Mayor Betsy McBride said. "We always had great plans for what could go here."

At a groundbreaking ceremony for "Haddon Point," township officials and the Burlington County developer who acquired the property last year donned white construction hats and turned shovels of coffee-colored dirt. The site has been unused for years, covered only with weeds.

"A lot of people didn't think it was going to happen," said Tom Juliano, president of Delco Development of Willingboro. "It's going to happen."

Juliano said the project will cost between $35 million and $40 million. The firm expects to complete the first phase in the fall of 2018, he said.

Each building will have three stories, with one- and two-bedroom apartments. The gated complex will include a clubhouse, a recreation center, a pool, fire pits, and barbecue grills. Haddon Point Commons hopes to attract young professionals and empty nesters lured by its location about 20 minutes from Center City.

The units will rent for $1,500 to $1,900 monthly, plus utilities.

Kerry Yobb, former president of the  Pennsauken Mart Merchants Association, posted on his Facebook page: "Wish the new owners much success but will always remember the Mart days!"  He owned the Gold Emporium and Pretzel King at the mart.

Former merchants and customers had long hoped that a developer would reopen the Mart, which largely fell victim to competition from malls and other marketplaces. Some vendors set up shop at local flea markets, but few got the same traction.

"A lot of people do remember the Mart, but we have to move ahead," Township Committeeman Bill Orth said. "This is better for the town."

Skeptics wonder whether the complex will attract enough tenants or whether it should have been redeveloped solely as a commercial venture. McBride said the housing inventory currently available in the community of about 35,000 residents is geared more toward families.

The sprawling Mart was a popular haunt for bargain hunters from across the region. Its 120 stores offered a variety of items, from liquor and pretzels to cheap clothes, used books, and pets.

Camden County took over the property in 2003 with a $24 million redevelopment grant from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. The grant was one of the first the CRDA awarded to a municipality other than Atlantic City. The grant was later reduced to $12.5 million.

Three years later, the county labeled the Mart an eyesore and began shutting it down. It was demolished in 2007.

Over the years, there were proposals to build a minor-league ice hockey rink there, or a conference center, or luxurious condos and townhouses. Those plans never materialized, and for years, the once-promising site remained vacant.

The sports arena was envisioned as the home of a professional hockey team that South Jersey Democratic leader George E. Norcross III planned to buy. But by early 2005, Norcross had dropped the idea.

After that, there were negotiations with luxury home builders and big-box stores, but they always fell apart.

While waiting to find a buyer, the county paid Pennsauken $2.5 million for lost tax revenue. From now, the township will receive an annual payment of $253,000 in lieu of taxes, to be split by the county and Delco, until the site is fully developed. The township could get additional revenues from a commercial venture on the property, officials said.

Delco, which specializes in distressed commercial properties, reached a $6.2 million deal in April with the Camden County Improvement Authority to obtain the Mart site. The apartment project is the firm's first residential venture. Delco completed the sale of the Willingboro Towne Center in 2015 and has developed five hotels.

"Hip-hip hooray," Orth shouted during a news conference under a white tent erected on the site for Wednesday's groundbreaking. During the festivities, a DJ played music, a drone hovered over the area video-recording the event for Delco, and guests munched on appetizers and hot doughnuts served from two food trucks.

Juliano said Delco expects to put in about 500 units, possibly fewer, depending on the market. Retail and townhouses may be added in later phases, he said.

"Our goal is to make everybody proud," Juliano said. "We're going to take it to heart."