By any yardstick, the project is massive. Cherokee's plan, asapproved by the city council, calls for at least 5,000 newresidences, some 500,000 sf of retail space and a new marina on theDelaware River. The plan also calls for turning a 90-acre landfillwithin the tract into an 18-hole golf course. And in the retailcategory, it would bring so-called "big-box" stores to a city thathas none.

The project isn't without controversy. Prior to the city councilvote, almost three dozen local citizens weighed in with testimonyagainst it, mostly citing displacement of existing residents.According to local estimates, at least 1,000 homes, mostlysingle-family, would be razed to make way for Cherokee's project,and a number of are residents and businesses have threatened legalaction.

Nonetheless, "Cramer Hill has existed as an underutilized andenvironmentally degraded area for far too long," according toArijit De, executive director of the Camden Redevelopment Agency."The redevelopment will bring in private capital and enhance thequality of life."