Big change expected for downtown scene in Camden
CAMDEN - A landmark building that's become a hulking presence in downtown Camden is nearing demolition.
Camden County officials are seeking bids to raze the Aletha R. Wright Administration Building, a nearly windowless four-story structure that looms between City Hall and Broadway.
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"Demolition should start in late spring and the duration will be about a year," said county spokesman Dan Keashen.
Park plans uncertain
County officials once envisioned a park at the site of the full-block building, providing green space and allowing a long-blocked view of City Hall.
A similar project in 2012 leveled a parking garage on City Hall's west side. That area now holds Roosevelt Park, which runs along one block of 5th Street.
But officials currently do not have "a permanent plan" for a park at the Wright Building site, Keashen said.
He noted the cleared site could find new uses as NJ Transit pursues a planned redevelopment of the nearby Rand Transportation Center.
"There will need to be some mobilization and staging operations that take place for the (transportation center project) after the Wright Building is fully demolished," said Keashen.
Lit Brothers' legacy
The 128,000-square-foot building was erected in 1955 as a showcase for Lit Brothers, a long-defunct department store chain based in Philadelphia.
It was bricked over and converted to hold the county Surrogate’s Office, its tax board and its social services board.
Workers in those departments have been relocated, with the building's last occupants expected to leave this month.
The building took its name from a former county freeholder, a position now known as commissioner. Aletha Wright's public-service career was cut short in 1994 by her death at age 45.
Asbestos, mice and a mural
As part of the demolition project, workers would seal an underground corridor between City Hall and the Wright Building so they are not connected during asbestos abatement at the demolition site.
An invitation for prospective contractors also notes a “particular concern” with the potential presence of rats and mice in the building.
It says workers should use traps and pesticides to assure the building is free "from all pests ... that may pose a risk of infesting adjacent properties following demolition.”
Another casualty will be a massive mural on the building's wall facing Federal Street. It adds a rare splash of color with images of Camden's industrial past.
"Unfortunately, the mural has been painted directly on to the brick work and we have no way of preserving it that would be cost effective," Keashen said.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Aletha R. Wright Building could be a Camden memory next year
