Penns Grove.indd

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     Penns Grove bets on riverfront
                              F      or years, plans to revitalize Penns Grove,
                                     N.J. were literally dead in the water
                                     – including a stretch of the Delaware located
                              in the First State.
                                                                                        notorious types who came to gamble because it
                                                                                        was easy to evade New Jersey authorities by dash-
                                                                                        ing onto the pier and into Delaware.
                                                                                            Plentiful sturgeon in the river made Penns
                                 But a $65-million mixed-use development called         Grove the caviar capital of the world. From 1869 to
                  Story       Riverwalk is expected to change all that, creating a      1925 as many as 30 companies at once fished the
                              bustling center for shopping, dining and entertain-       Delaware. The Penns Grove Factory, established
                 by Eileen    ment. The public ground breaking for the project          in 1907, canned the fish eggs under the name
                              was July 19. Riverwalk is expected to open in the         Romanoff Caviar. The brand is still recognized
                 Dallabrida   summer of 2006.                                           today, although pollution and over fishing put an
                                 “Penns Grove has waited long enough,” says             end to the local trade by 1930.
                              George Kearns III, managing director of Fenwick               The town began to drift into obscurity after
                              Commons, the Pennsylvania-based developer. “We            the construction of the first span of the Delaware
                              think this project will be a big boost not only to        Memorial Bridge in 1951 when motorists no longer
                              the town but will become a major attraction for           had to take the ferry to travel from New Castle to
                              Wilmington, as well.”                                     New Jersey. By 2000, Penns Grove was listed as
                                 On the Jersey side, there will be 195,000 square       the second most economically distressed town in
                              feet of retail and entertainment, including 40            New Jersey.
                              shops and space for glassblowers and other arti-              “This was a prosperous place,” Kearns says. “But
                              sans on a waterfront promenade. Four restaurants          the bridge tanked the town.”
                              are planned, among them a 40,000-square-foot                  Early hope for revitalization was personified
                              banquet center, a 10,000-square-foot seafood house        in Willis, who formed Screwball Inc. and started
                              and microbrewery and a 4,500-square-foot Italian          buying properties in the 1990s. But Willis’ vision
                              restaurant with a 1920s theme, sited in a bank            for an entertainment-based venue became bogged
                              once robbed by “Pretty Boy” Floyd. A 60-room              down in red tape and his divorce from actress
                              hotel will offer both short-term and extended-stay        Demi Moore. In 2000, he sold to Fenwick, although
                              suites.                                                   he still owns the Masonic Temple next door to
                                 Under the terms of a Colonial-era agreement,           the stately home on Main Street where his father,
                              Delaware lays claim to the territory up to the            Dave, resides.
                              water’s edge on the Jersey side, meaning 12 of                It took another five years for Fenwick to put
                              the development’s 26 acres are located in the First       together a complicated network of approvals
                              State. On the Delaware side will be a 900-foot pier       and financing involving the states of New Jersey
                              and a 240-foot wharf where tall ships, ferries and        and Delaware, the boroughs of Penns Grove and
                              boaters can dock. Snow Island, the only privately         Carneys Point and Salem County. The pier and
                              held island in the river, will be the site of an obser-   Snow Island alone required approval from the
                              vation deck for fireworks and boat races.                 Delaware Historic Preservation Office, Delaware
                                 Kearns also would like to see riverboat gam-           Coastal Zone Management, Delaware Department
                              bling as part of the mix.                                 of Natural Resources and Control and the U.S.
                                 “I think it’s in keeping with what we’re trying        Army Corps of Engineers.
                              to do here and would be a tremendous draw,” he                “Because the project is in two states, it was
                              says.                                                     incredibly complex – the most difficult project I’ve
                                 Mayor John Washington said the project “marks          encountered in 30 years in development,” Kearns
                              a new beginning for Penns Grove.”                         said.
                                 In recent years, this town of 4,500 has been               Government already has improved local roads
                              down at the heels, celebrated mostly for its famous       to accommodate heavy construction machinery.
                              native son, the movie star Bruce Willis. Actor John       Penns Grove will construct the waterfront bulk-
                              Forsythe, who played the tycoon patriarch Blake           head and paved promenade. Fenwick will build
                              Carrington on the prime-time TV soap Dynasty,             the retail and entertainment elements, including
                              also grew up here.                                        a five-story lighthouse Kearns says will make
                                 But in its heyday, Penns Grove was the favored         Riverwalk a landmark.
                              hangout for comedian W.C. Fields, whose sister                “People will be able to see it from Wilmington
                              ran French’s Hotel. John Philip Sousa and his band        and say: ‘I want to go there,’” he says.
                              performed frequently. Al Capone was among the