A group of entrepreneurs whose trendy restaurants helped
jump-start Asbury Park's resurgence at the Jersey Shore is turning its
attention to Burlington City, a distressed Delaware River community on the
other side of the state.
A business group that calls itself Smith says it is closing
on 10 properties throughout the city and hopes to convert at least two of them
into eateries modeled after its successful Shore restaurants. The first, which
would be in a 16,000-square-foot fire hall, would be a Porta restaurant, the
latest in a small chain of bustling, upscale Neapolitan pizza places with octopus
and other specialties on the menu.
"We fell in love with Burlington City," said Jim
Watt, an architect and one of five partners in the design, marketing, and real
estate development group. Watt said the group was investing heavily in the city
and planned to open the pizza restaurant, a high-end tavern, and a gourmet
coffee cafe over the next 12 to 18 months.
"Real estate prices were very low and made what we want
to do very feasible," he said, adding that there were some government
subsidies and loans available for renovations. "We believe the place has a
huge potential."
The eateries are just the first wave of changes planned for
Burlington, a quaint historic city whose downtown is marred by vacant
storefronts and the recent shuttering of an elegant, long-established
restaurant, Cafe Gallery. The blue-collar community of 10,000 at the foot of
the Burlington-Bristol Bridge is also struggling to replace or repair
boarded-up and foreclosed-upon rowhouses.
In May, the City Council hired a redevelopment consultant,
Jim Kennedy, for $54,000 a year to design a strategy to create a new look for
the downtown and to attract business. Kennedy plans to present a package of
recommendations at a council meeting next month.
The former Rahway mayor got his experience by leading
development efforts in his own decaying industrial North Jersey town during a
20-year tenure that ended when he decided against seeking another term three
years ago. Kennedy wooed the Smith group to Burlington over the summer after
Watt contacted his company, Skye Consulting, and said they had $20 million to
invest and were interested in finding an economically challenged community with
business opportunities.
"People like Jim and his group are referred to as
'prospectors,' the first guys in, and they're hard to get," Kennedy said.
But Burlington, he said, was an easy sell. It has
magnificent river views and sits along a light-rail line linking it to
Philadelphia, 30 minutes away, he said. An arts and culture scene that can
"bring funk to the area" and act as a growth catalyst had already
picked up traction and has more potential, he said.
Kennedy also pointed out the city has a rich history, noting
it is where Ben Franklin, Ulysses S. Grant, and other famous figures lived for
a time.
Two other investor groups have since expressed interest in
the city, he said, declining to name them.
Kennedy also met with Richard Newton, a partner and
landscape architect with Olin Studios, a Philadelphia firm redesigning that
city's Dilworth Plaza. Kennedy said Newton had ideas for how Burlington might
improve the aesthetics of the grassy five-acre public grounds along the river.
"This is a world-class piece of property," Kennedy
said, adding that it could host festivals and concerts for 5,000 people.
"It allows the city to become a destination."
Newton said that he walked the waterfront with Kennedy and
that it could be made more attractive by "moving earth around, planting,
creating paths, and maybe gardens with beautiful smells and colors" and
also by making it able to "withstand lots of people" during events.
Kennedy will propose hiring Olin and also will suggest
bringing in a developer to construct 300 to 350 market-rate apartments on
vacant land near the riverfront. The development, he said, would help sustain
new businesses in the city.
Meanwhile, the Smith group is moving forward with plans to
acquire the properties and get local approvals for its ventures.
Smith is slated to settle on the Endeavor Emergency Squad
and Fire Company No. 1 building this month after negotiating to buy it from the
city and the volunteer company for $175,000, according to Dave Ballard, the
city's business administrator. The building is part of the city's redevelopment
zone and will require renovations, he said.
The fire hall would house Porta, door in Italian. It would
be decorated with an assortment of old doors, similar to the other restaurants
in the chain, Watt said. It is expected to have a seating capacity of 250 and
dance space.
Watt said the Smith group's expertise was acquiring
deteriorating or vacant buildings and finding creative ways to reuse them.
Founded seven years ago, Smith owns and operates six
restaurants and is building 21 condominiums above a French brasserie it plans
to open in the next few weeks in an 11-story building that formerly housed the
gas company in Asbury Park.
Smith opened the first Porta three years ago in the
nightclub where Bruce Springsteen first met Clarence Clemons, a block from the
famed Stone Pony. A New York Times food critic gave Porta a glowing review, and
on a busy night, 900 custom pizzas are baked in an 850-degree brick oven, Watt
said.
Mayor Jim Fazzone says he believes sleepy
"Mayberry" is on the cusp of becoming a more vibrant community.
"Watt's group is coming in and buying up prime locations all over the
city," he said. "And he's done wonders anyplace he goes."
Fazzone said he and other city officials were aware
Burlington had a lot to offer but just didn't have the resources to bring the
city out of its economic decline. Then, in the spring, City Council hired
Kennedy to help get the city noticed and get a strategy going, he said.
Investors "have fallen in love with the town," he
said. "They say our town has the best bones of any town - its
infrastructure, the river, the history, and the two rail stops on the line. . .
. They're even moving here."
Source: Philly.com
No comments:
Post a Comment