Cramer Hill Waterfront Park and Salvation Army Kroc Center Redevelopment

Background

TRC has had a successful history providing landfill-related service to the Camden Redevelopment Agency (CRA) at the Cramer Hill Waterfront Park and Salvation Army Kroc Center, formerly the City of Camden Harrison Avenue Landfill. This landfill had never been properly closed and was the highest profile Brownfield site in Camden, New Jersey and one of the most significant in the state. The former Harrison Avenue Landfill was an 85-acre landfill that was converted into a community center and public park, receiving the 2022 Phoenix Award for the United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region 2.

During the landfill’s operation from 1952 through 1971, and its subsequent abandonment for the past 45 years, it has adversely impacted the neighboring Cramer Hill community with numerous fires, exposed garbage, contaminated soils, groundwater pollution and leachate discharge into the rivers. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the Kroc Foundation and Salvation Army, and the CRA assigned TRC to investigation and remedial action design responsibilities related to environmental conditions.

Challenges

The team developed an innovative and expedited environmental assessment process to meet strict deadlines. TRC worked to strategically divide the site to focus efforts and developed a Remedial Action Plan for the former landfill, with specific actions for targeted areas. Starting in early 2004, TRC worked with a private redeveloper to assess the conditions at numerous properties in the Cramer Hill community, including the Harrison Avenue Landfill. TRC prepared a Preliminary Assessment Report (PAR) in accordance with the requirements of the NJDEP. The redeveloper submitted a plan proposing multiple use redevelopment of the area (residential, commercial and recreational facilities).

Due to various factors the private redevelopment effort stalled but the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers (RJKCCC) expressed an interest in development of The Salvation Army Kroc Center (TSAC). In consideration of the newly promulgated NJDEP regulations prohibiting building construction atop municipal solid waste and the New Jersey Madden Act regulating environmental conditions for day care facilities, CRA retained TRC to perform remedial investigation and a remedial action workplan for construction of the Salvation Army Kroc Center at the northern edge of the landfill where a lesser accumulation of MSW could be removed before construction.  Following the construction of TSAC, TRC continued leading the effort for the closure of the remainder of the Harrison Avenue Landfill for use as a public park.

Solutions

TRC worked closely with the NJDEP, CRA and other stakeholders to remediate the site designing and managing the import of dredging material from the Delaware and Cooper Rivers to supply clean capping material for a cost-effective cap that attains NJDEP standards. Our team developed and implemented a soil characterization sampling and analysis program in consultation with the NJDEP to beneficially reuse the Delaware River dredge materials from the Palmyra Cove Confined Disposal Facility. After confirmation of the suitability of the materials for the landfill closure project. TRC prepared requisite permit applications, obtained approvals from the NJDEP and County to transport and stage the material, managed the specifications, public bid and implementation of the transportation and storage of the materials at the former Harrison Avenue Landfill.

During the final design and construction process, underwritten by an NJDEP Office of Natural Resources Restoration Grant worked with the stakeholders to support the CRA in meetings to plan and design the remedial strategy, which included materials handling, soils and erosion control measures and acquisition of additional adjacent properties. The same team then developed plans for the ultimate closure and redevelopment of the of the former landfill as the Cramer Hill Waterfront Park, which has included the construction of tidal wetlands and ponds, stormwater retention systems and restoration of the shoreline along the Cooper and Delaware Rivers to complement the Living Shoreline project led by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.

Result

Since 2015 TRC has performed as the Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) for the site with a final review and oversight responsibility to ensure the remedial and redevelopment actions have been in compliance with the NJDEP Site Remediation Program. The park is now completed, and offers a theatre, exercise stations, a fishing area, miles of hiking/biking paths and trails, a picnic area, a playground, a sensory garden, multiple shoreline observation areas and panoramic views.

A summary and videos of the project and progress may be viewed at https://www.nj.gov/dep/nrr/cramer-hill.htm .