By: Follow South Jersey Staff
CAMDEN, N.J. — Camden Lutheran Housing Inc. will receive $1 million in grant funds for the cleanup of the former West Jersey Paper Manufacturing Site located at North Front Street and Elm Street in Camden, officials announced on Thursday, August 29.
Officials including Commissioner Deputy Director Ed McDonnell, Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen, Congressman Donald Norcross and representatives from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection (USDEP) made the announcement at the location where, after the cleanup, 15 affordable single-family homes will be built.
“I am grateful to the Environmental Protection Agency for awarding this grant funding and for EPA’s continued efforts to support environmental renewal in urban areas like Camden,” Carstarphen said in a press release from the USDEP. “We have worked tirelessly with EPA for decades to remediate brownfields and to transition sites from our former industrial past into cleaner uses. This grant will help further our goal, by promoting new community driven development in our neighborhoods, and providing residents with the improved quality of life they deserve.”
The grant funds what is know as a Brownfields Cleanup project “where the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated due to the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Once these properties have been cleaned up, former brownfields can be redeveloped into productive uses such as grocery stores, affordable housing, parks, or solar farms,” according to a press release from Camden County.
“This city has continually benefited from the Brownfields program, and I am thrilled to see another grant in action in North Camden,” McDonnell said. “Through these grants we have transformed hazardous sites into safe, beautiful, community spaces such as Elijah Perry Park and Judge. Rober B. Johnson Park and now we can address the need for affordable housing with this newest project. I want to thank the EPA and all of our partners for investing in this city and truly caring about the health and equity of our residents.”
The Camden Redevelopment Agency also received a $500,000 community-wide grant for environmental site assessments, focusing on the Federal Street Industrial and Commercial Corridor in the East Camden neighborhood.
“This $1 million Brownfields Cleanup Grant awarded to Camden Lutheran Housing Inc. is a critical investment in the future of this community,” U.S. Senator Corey Booker stated. “This historic funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will clean up a contaminated site, and lay the foundation for new affordable homes for Camden families.”
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