CME Associates is holding a zoom meeting on Thursday, December 17th, at 3:00 p.m. to discuss the final set of plans for crosswalk improvements to Centre Street within Pennsauken and Merchantville. The plans have been completed and the project is anticipated for public bid the beginning of the new year. To join the Zoom Meeting please use this ID: 930 2712 5032, click on this link:  https://zoom.us/j/93027125032 or dial into this number: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York).

A developer on Monday will unveil a plan for new stores and housing downtown with a goal of bringing more people to live and shop there.Mayor Edward "Ted" Brennan said Viking is proposing a pair of three-story apartment buildings, more retail and more pedestrian paths on a 2-acre triangular piece of land between Centre Street, East Park Avenue and Chestnut Avenue. Viking Group's preliminary proposal, costing up to $19 million, would redevelop what is now mostly a vacant parking lot bordered by a closed bank, other businesses, a coffee shop, and a trail for walking and biking. It will present the plan at the Borough Council meeting Monday night. https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/2018/09/14/merchantville-downtown-redevelopment-plan-viking-associates/1285470002/

St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society, the nonprofit which specializes in rehabbing vacant properties and promoting homeownership, is “taking what we learned in Camden” and applying it to the suburban New Jersey towns of Pennsauken, Merchantville and Gloucester City, as well as Collingswood. Now, St. Joseph’s is preparing to rehab three properties in Collingswood with the help of the borough: a privately-owned twin at 19 Lees Ave.; a bank-owned bungalow at 254 Harvard Ave.; and a bank-owned large home at 634 Atlantic Ave. http://bit.ly/2kvhCpG

Last evening, Mayor Ted Brennan introduced the borough's vision for the blighted triangular plot behind the old bank building, between Park and East Chestnut, and a mixed use concept proposal by Viking Group and architect/planners from Barton Partners that would help the borough activate the hub of its commercial district. The well-received presentation was attend by about 80-90 residents and business owners. If Borough Council and Viking come to agreement on a plan, they would be designated as the redeveloper, then the proposal would be subject to review by state and local boards. Meetings on the progress of this proposed project will be publicized and are open to the public. http://www.njpen.com/merchantville-residents-get-first-look-at-proposed-88-unit-downtown-redevelopment/

For all the borough has to offer, Brennan said Merchantville could stand to do a better job touting its virtues. Originally founded as a Philadelphia summer vacation community, the little shade tree borough has a lot of historic character and a nascent local business community that has gotten a boost in recent years. The Station Café, with its unique mix of coffee shop and arts center, also hosts the borough farmers market, and has become “a nice little cornerstone business,” Brennan said. Farther up the street, Eclipse Brewing, which took up shop in a former EMS building, offers craft beer at the edge of the central business district. http://bit.ly/2kCSug2

To Merchantville Mayor Ted Brennan, the Station cafe is the keystone to redevelopment in the heart of his borough’s business district. “For a long period of time, it’s just been corporate offices,” which provide ratables, but which don’t offer a unique cultural aspect, Brennan said. Adding a fine and performing arts space at the center of the borough downtown, however; that’s something he can work with. Read more at NJ Pen. http://bit.ly/1dJThoO