Riverfront State Prison (RSP) is a former prison in Camden, New Jersey, that was operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections from August 12, 1985, to 2009. [1] It was located in the neighborhood of Cooper Point at the intersection of Delaware Avenue and Elm Street. [2]
The prison first opened after the state paid Camden money in exchange for receiving a plot of land that was used to establish the prison. [3] It having been constructed at a cost of $31 million. [4] The prison had a design capacity of 631 inmates, but housed 1,020 in 2007 and 1,017 in 2008. [5]
In 2007, while the state was preparing to close Riverfront, it considered establishing a replacement state prison in Cumberland County, which already had three other state prisons. [6] When officials from the city of Bridgeton, New Jersey, heard of a state report proposing to move Riverfront's prisoners to South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, Bridgeton officials opposed the plans. [7]
The last prisoners were transferred in June 2009 to other locations and the prison was closed. [8] The state had a savings of $43 million per year. [9] The 16-acre site is considered surplus property by the state. [10] The buildings were demolished in 2009. [11] [12] In December 2012, the New Jersey Legislature approved the sale of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) site, considered surplus property, to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. [13]
In May 2013 the New Jersey Economic Development Authority announced that it would seek developers for the site. [14] In September 2013 Waterfront Renaissance Associates announced that it proposed to build the Riverfront World Trade Center, a development of 2.3-million-square-foot campus on 16 acres (6.5 ha) on the site. The project would be built in four phases, the first of which would be a promenade along the Delaware River. [15] [16] [17]
On September 2, 2024, the state made an aggressive proposal involving $800 million in public incentives to the Philadelphia 76ers to build a mixed-used stadium on the site. This immediately prompted condemnation from multiple groups opposed to using public funds to support for-profit sports franchises, along with calls for investigations to any possible connection to George Norcross, his family, and associates who are under federal indictment. [18]
