Once a slum, a Camden neighborhood is a ‘miracle comeback.’

By Edward Colimore
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

July 10, 2008

CAMDEN | The East Camden community was once known for killings, prostitution and drug sales. Now, it has a new distinction, as one of the country's top 10 "cottage neighborhoods," according to a national magazine.

The suburban-style facelift given to the area formerly known as Westfield Acres is highlighted in the current issue of Cottage Living magazine.

Public housing and boarded-up homes were razed in 2000 to make way for Baldwin's Run. The neighborhood now has hundreds of new owner-occupied and rental townhouses with porches, picket fences, driveways and flower-filled planters.

The $100 million redevelopment, paid for with state and federal funds, also included the rehabilitation of scores of abandoned homes in adjoining neighborhoods.
The project was the work of a private developer, Pennrose Properties, and the nonprofit St. Joseph's Carpenter Society.

"Cottages with character in well-thought-out neighborhoods trump soul-less subdivisions in my book," said Cottage Living editor-in-chief Eleanor Griffin, who described the Camden community's transformation a "miracle comeback."

The magazine ranked Baldwin's Run second among the nation's top 10 cottage communities.