Restoring aged, historic buildings can bring surprises, as the nonprofit Heart of Camden learned while rehabilitating a former brick retail store into a makerspace for the Camden arts community.
The vacant building at 1811 South Broadway once held the E.H. Olsen Hardware store and, later, a thrift store.
As the contractor restored the structure, a wall collapsed, requiring changes to the project that added to costs but also sparked additional community support.
The $1.1 million project was completed and officially opened at the end of October in the Waterfront South neighborhood, with spaces for the IDEA Center for the Creative Arts and the Camden FireWorks’ Clay Collective.
An addition in the rear opens onto the FireWorks courtyard, where women impacted by the justice system work in therapeutic pottery workshops, according to the Heart of Camden.
Heart of Camden, a housing and community development nonprofit, was founded in 1984 by the late Monsignor Michael Doyle, pastor of Sacred Heart Church. His guiding philosophy for those working with the community was “Do your bit.”
The organization has built more than 250 homes and six arts and culture facilities and operates the Michael J. Doyle Fieldhouse in the Waterfront South neighborhood.
When the wall collapsed in the former hardware store, the architect needed to change the plans for the clay studio, and more funds were needed.
After the collapse, Heart of Camden brought in John Martin, who is now the director of real estate development, to complete the restoration project.
The City of Camden Urban Enterprise Zone program committed $185,000 to cover structural repairs, an elevator, and the remaining fit-out, according to Heart of Camden, which matched the city’s UEZ grant.
“I inherited this project in February, and we were staring at a collapsed wall, no ceiling or foundation for the Clay Collective space, and a change order that had put the budget at risk,” Martin said in a statement. “Eight months later, we cut the ribbon. That’s a testament to funders who didn’t waver and a project team that got this done not the easy way, but the right way,” he said.
The building “is a beacon of hope for Waterfront South and proof of what collaboration can accomplish when the state and the city step in and step up for a neighborhood that needs the investment most,” the nonprofit said in its announcement.
Initial funding came from the state Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit program, which awarded the Heart of Camden in 2022, 2023, 2025, and 2026.
Investors from the business community included New Jersey American Water, The Campbell’s Company, Subaru of America, PNC Bank, Columbia Bank, CSC Brands, First Bank, and Holman Enterprises Inc.
“The Department of Community Affairs is proud to support the Heart of Camden’s work to preserve this historic building and transform it into a vibrant center for arts education, creative opportunity, and community connection,” Jacquelyn A. Suárez, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, said in a statement.
“This project is not only restoring an important piece of Waterfront South’s history, but it is also helping build a stronger and more vibrant future for Camden,” she said.
