Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 82

6D COURIER-POST, Sunday, March 18, 2001 BUSINESS TracVldeas abound for development of Garden State Park, but devil is in details Continued from Page ID lights flash on, she am see the sil- Bender will gaze out on a seven- hard adjusting to the thought of houette of the grandstand, a acre storm water retention pond, losing a South Jersey landmark, ful castle In the night sky. Like most fans, she stopped go- "You never think something When the grandstand is gone, ing to the track years ago. But it's that big will go away," she said. nil mmmmrmzjp'f'mm0w'- i r-nr 1 A XXW; 1 'A 1 rc-mr TINA MARKOE KINSLOWCouner-Post Cherry Hill's Fire Chief Robert Giorgio (pointing) and Police Chief Brian Malloy on Wednesday look at the proposed layout for the soon-to-be demolished Garden State Park. Scholar Athlete Awards Scholarship Nominations: Each week, from May 2 to June 3, 2001 a scholarship will be awarded to each of two South Jersey high school seniors who excel in academics, as well as, sports.

Coca-Cola, Super Holman Lincoln-Mercury and the Courier-Post will grant $400 to each winner. Weekly winners will be announced each Sunday and Wednesday in the Courier-Post with stories and photographs. Anyone may nominate a scholar athlete. Applications are available from the Courier-Post. Nominees must be senior class girls or boys from Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland or Salem County high schools.

Any interscholastic sport qualifies. Ten winners will be selected by a panel of judges. Levin noted. "If there's more demand for corporate space than for retail, we can change that or the other way around." Maloomian hasn't started the approval process yet, but the township has hired a planner to help grease the skids. The grandstand could fall before the end of the year.

The notion of transforming the track Into a mixed-used development combining office, retail and residential space was first floated after a fire leveled the grandstand in 1977 and Garden State plunged into bankruptcy. But the trustee who considered the bids on the property awarded the site to high-rolling financier Robert Brennan. He rebuilt Garden State urto one of the most dazzling tracks in America, just as bettors were abandoning the horses for casino gambling. The track lost $23 million its first year and never turned a profit. Brennan, whose First Jersey Securities hawked dubious penny stocks in the 1980s, was run out of racing for cheating investors and is currently standing trial in Trenton on money laundering charges.

Truth to tell, Levin is glad Garden State wasn't developed immediately after the fire. "We know now to keep wetlands rather than fill them in," she said. "Back in the '70s, they might have mowed down all the trees." Catherine Rogers is delighted the mature stand of trees that buffers the track from Third Avenue will be preserved in the plan. "I love these trees," she said. Rogers has been neighbors with Garden State for 52 of her 84 years.

The tidy rancher she built with her husband, Joseph, is tucked on a plot that backs up to red-brick dormitories for grooms, a tiny nibble out of the track's enormous footprint. "We built this place, all by ourselves," she said. "With our own hands and with no mortgage." For years, the Rogerses watched the horses exercise from their back yard. They chatted through the fence with the track's founder, Vineland businessman Eugene Mori, when he would inspect the property. "Mori kept the place up nice," she said.

But Rogers was disappointed when Brennan built the dormitories so close to her expansive back mAT i. I "The only way it would work would be to relocate the municipal buildings there," he said. "But a town center would cut down on the ratables and few people are going to walk around connived sidewalks you have to drive to reach." Taxable properties abound in the mixed-use plan, including a hotel and restaurant. And few children are expected to reside in the 70Oodd dwellings not reserved for owners over 55 meaning property taxes come in to the township, but fewer dollar's go out to support the school system. Currently, the track is Cherry Hill's second-highest taxpayer, behind Cherry Hill Mall.

Garden State's tab is $2 million a year. The new Garden State Park is expected to generate $11 million a year. There is historic value in retaining parts of the track's illustrious past, Levin said. The pavilion initially designed for horse auctions will be a community center suitable for cultural events or large corporate gatherings. The circa-1940 brick gate house and walls will be retained, she said, "because people are nostalgic about the track." Pennwood Racing, the consortium that leases the track, will open its final thoroughbred meet April 13.

But that doesn't mean the race is over. Pennwood is expected to bet New Jersey will legalize off-track wagering, enabling the gaming consortium to exercise an option to set up shop on a 10-acre section of the tract on Route 70. Winifred Bender has a view of the track from her mobile home on Redwood Avenue. When the yard in 1985. She figures she can live with the townhouses planned for the site but only if they are no taller than two stories.

Levin said the Garden State development will enable more senior citizens like the Rogerses to stay In town after they raise their families. "Now, many of our older people move to Medford or Mount Lam-el where there already are over-55 communities," she said. But Thomas P. Hamer, director of the Center for Economic Data Analysis at Rowan University, said the housing development is unlikely to thrive because the $200,000 entry point is too high and older people are reluctant to invest in planned communities that don't offer some sort of on-site medical care. He believes a technology complex much like those on Route 1 in the Princeton area would most benefit the community.

"Large tech centers tend to have lots of grass around them," he said. "It would bring a lot of paying jobs and people who live in Cherry Hill wouldn't have to commute to Philadelphia for work." Prospects for the retail center will depend on how much the economy slows, he said. "To extend the concept of the (existing) Garden State Pavilions shopping center certainly is logical," he said. "But if we slip into recession, we will see a lot of retail failures." Despite its prosperity, Cherry Hill never developed a downtown district or any place that might be considered a town center. Hamer said the track land is unlikely to fill the bill.

cPcvc Uf nm raw i. TV CO THE QUALITY FOOD PEOPLE jS'lffl For nomination forms, call: 856-486-2424 or come to the Courier-Post lobby, M-F 301 Cuthbert Cherry Hill Courier-Post South Jersey's Newspaper courierpostonline.com MAPLE SEMIDE of TURNERSVILLE XT litt'i Rt. 42 Turnersville, NJ Just fill out this entry blank completely and drop off at Maple Shade IOA Turnersville! be deposited ot Maple Shade MAILED ENTRIES WILL BE CONTEST RULES. Completed entry blanks MUST KIA of Turnersville, Rt. 42, Turnersville.

NJ. NO ACCEPTED. One entry per person per day. i Grand Prize is a KIA Rio, VIN 16043833. i Prize winner will be chosen at random from all entire sweepstakes period on April 2, 2001 at 9 00PM Winners must be 18 years old by the drawing date licence.

All federal, state and local taxes, licence, Retail value $9,345. entries received during the and contacted by phone, and have a valid driver's NAME AGE insurance and fees are the sole responsibility of the winner. Prize is nontransferable cash in lieu of the automobile. and winner may choose to accept $3,000 blanks wiH be available one per person net during normal business hours for the contest plan on purchasing a car in the MONTH 6 MONTHS YEAR 2-3 YEARS I ADDRESS I CITY STATE ZIP v. No facsimiles.

No purchase necessary. Official entry day in the Maple Shade KIA of Turnersville showroom period. Official entry blanks are also available in the Courier- Post newspaper. Maple Shade KIA ol Void where prohibited by law. Entries become .4 Maple Shade KIA of Turnersville, its parent Turnersville is not responsible for lost or misdirected entries, property of Maple Shade KIA of Turnersville.

Employees of companies, their immediate families or agencies are not Turnersville will be the sole and final judge for any and all are based on the number of eligible entries received. Enter E-MAIL PHONE eligible to win. Maple Shade KIA of questions arising from this contest. Odds as often as you wish, however only one and photos can be used for-sdvertising this i This entry MUST be dropped off at Maple Shade KIA Rt 42 Turnersville No entries by mail will be accepted. entry per person per day.

Prize-Miners agree that their names and future promotions..