Camden Employers Incentivizing Middle-Class Homeownership

Last week, local officials announced that the troubled city's largest employers, including three hospitals and a university, will begin offering incentives to lure workers into buying homes in the area. Geoff Mulvihill reports.

1 minute read

October 30, 2011, 5:00 AM PDT

By Judy Chang


"The assistance is relatively modest compared to what's available in some cities, but it does represent a new kind of boosterism for Camden. Instead of simply pining for changes that would lure a middle class back, city leaders are actively recruiting.

"We have a lot to be proud of and we need to talk about it in order to move Camden up on the list of desirable places to live," said David Foster, president of Cooper's Ferry Partnership, a planning and redevelopment agency.

Some of the attractions: being in a city with an array of public transportation making for easy access across the Delaware River to Philadelphia; low housing costs and property taxes -- at least by New Jersey standards; quick access to concerts at the city's Susquehanna Center."

Saturday, October 29, 2011 in Chicago Tribune

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