SJBiz_Camden Business Dept_0625FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 6 / 4 / 25 4 : 22 PM Page 2 residents from the city of Camden , ” Carstarphen says . “ They’re doing a $ 3 billion expansion that is going to continue to help that city , continue to be the staple that they’ve been for health care , and continue to beautify the downtown area . ” Cappelli notes that Gov . Phil Murphy has committed $ 250 million to creating an up - dated , state - of - the - art Walter Rand Trans - portation Center , and directly across the street in a separate but related project , the county is developing The Beacon Tower , a possible 25 - story structure that will include office space . “ We’re still exploring the potential uses and how tall it will actually be , but it will def - initely be the tallest building in the city , ” he says . “ I would say the building will be built over the next five years . ” Along with economic development , a brand - new Camden High School is now in use and several charter schools have been es - tablished to improve education . Carstarphen says the city has paved more roads in the past four years than during any other period in Camden’s history , and he is also excited about programs to assist seniors with repairs to their homes and athletic associations geared to - ward the youth . More importantly , he adds , the Camden County Police Department has worked hard to build trust with residents , and crime is at a 55 - year low . “ We’re an urban community and we have challenges , but I’ll tell you , we have mitigated a lot of those challenges , and we’re working hard to continue to mitigate them to the point where you have to look really hard to find something wrong , ” Carstarphen says . “ Most of the neighborhoods in Camden City are just as safe as any neighborhood in the suburbs , ” Cappelli adds . “ We still have some challenging areas that we’re address - ing , and we will address , but generally speak - ing it’s a much safer city . ” Cappelli believes the next step is improv - ing the residential sector for current residents and to attract professionals in the city — whether professors at Rutgers or doctors and nurses at Cooper — to want to call Cam - den home . “ We need to attract market - rate housing developers to the city , ” he says . “ We have plenty of land on which to build and I think that’s the next phase of development we’ll see . What we’ve done through the Camden County Improvement Authority is put to - gether a map of all publicly owned proper - ties in the city of Camden , and we are now actively marketing those properties to po - tential developers . So far we have a lot of interest , and I think in the near future some very exciting announcements will be made . ” Nonprofits also play a role , like the SouthJerseyBiz.net | VOLUME 15 ISSUE 6 | SOUTH JERSEY BIZ | 15
