Redevelopment

• Redevelopment Plans

Royal Farms – 222 South White horse Pike The Royal Farms building permits have been reviewed and approved by our building department. The developer is waiting for authorization for NJ Department of Transportation related to access to the State Highway White Horse Pike. This NJDOT approval is required before work can begin on the site.

Press Release regarding Stratford Square May 18, 2020
Recently, Mayor Josh Keenan and Stratford Borough Council stood their ground for our residents and rejected an agreement between Brandywine and Camden County government that would have paved the way for the enormous tax-exempt Camden County Social Services Offices to occupy the former Bradlees Department Store site.

The Camden County Social Services Office is currently located at 600 Market Street in Camden. Social Services is a division of county government which administers programs such as Food Stamps, SNAP, Medicaid, Child Support and other financial assistance for persons eligible for assistance throughout Camden County. The Stratford location was eyed by Camden County officials in part due to its accessibility from Camden, Philadelphia and other communities via the PATCO High Speedline.

Mayor and Council have worked tirelessly to redevelop the Bradlees Shopping Center into a 130,000 square foot retail center. This would have yielded millions of dollars in revenues to ease the tax burden on our residents.  Brandywine purchased the property, proposed this redevelopment project and was appointed the official redeveloper.  After reaching an agreement, the new “Stratford Square” was born. The agreement charged Brandywine with the responsibility to seek retail and restaurant type tenants for this site.

In late 2019, Borough officials first learned Brandywine sought to sell a large portion of the property to Camden County. The proposed sale would breach financial and other terms of its agreement with the Borough of Stratford. 

In refusing to approve the County project, Mayor and Council considered all aspects including the adverse financial impact to our residents and taxpayers. If the Borough approved the transfer, it would completely change the nature of the approved redevelopment resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in revenues to the Borough over the next 30 years.

Unfortunately, Brandywine who reneged on its deal for the retail project, refused to negotiate in good faith with the Borough and made no attempt to offset the loss of millions of dollars in revenues to our residents and taxpayers. Brandywine, who will end up owning the balance of the property, was in a position to make changes to its agreements with the Borough and simply refused to do so.

While Mayor and Council desire to continue cooperative relationships with Camden County, the proposed sale was simply not in the short or long term best interests of our residents and taxpayers and was not in accordance with the approved redevelopment plan for this site.

• Redevelopment Plans
• Site Plan
• Grading Plan

Laurel Mills Development Update:
Stratford is committed to transforming this long dormant property into a beautiful, vibrant neighborhood. Working in concert with the property owner, Stratford’s Borough Council and Joint Land Use Board created a viable Redevelopment Plan for the site and have provided all the necessary approvals to allow the project for 80 new townhomes as well as retail space along Warwick Road to proceed immediately. Sometimes, saying yes isn’t enough and unfortunately, the property owner must demonstrate their commitment through deliberate and progressive action to redevelop the property.

Therefore, at its February 8th meeting, Borough Council, by way of Res. 2022-045 (Click Here to View), directed the Joint Land Use Board to evaluate the property to be declared an Area in Need of Redevelopment – with Condemnation Authority. We remain committed to our vision for this site and hope the current owner lives up to their commitments. But rest assured, Stratford will exhaust every available resource within its power to see this site blossom to compliment the other nearby residential homes.

The Senior Living Facility is continuing with their demolition phase. The developer has received many calls and inquiries from local residents wanting to obtain information on the new facility and to find out how to apply for residency. The Redeveloper of the Laurel Mills Project has submitted revised plans for review by the Joint Land Use Board Engineer. These revisions were requested at the recent JLUB meeting where amendments were approved by the Board Members. Once the revised plans are approved, the Redeveloper can move forward to submit his building plans for permits, and begin demolition.

• Affordable Homeownership Opportunities

• Ordinance & Redevelopment Plans

Berlin Road Redevelopment Project continues to move forward.

Council has authorized the Joint Land Use Board to review the second phase of possible redevelopment along Berlin Road. This would be the area from Berlin Road to the Pike, and from Arlington Avenue to the PATCO New Road. The JLUB will work with the Borough Planner to review the area and discuss if the area meets the requirements for declaring it “in-need of redevelopment”

Additional Informational Links