SOUTH JERSEY

An eyesore for years, Camden's Pierre Building becomes apartment complex

Phaedra Trethan
The Courier-Post
The Pierre Building on Cooper Street in Camden was built in 1932 but was vacant and deteriorating for years. It reopened Wednesday as an apartment complex.

CAMDEN – For decades, the Pierre Building deteriorated on Cooper Street, in the heart of one of Camden's most historic districts.

As Rutgers University, Camden County College and LEAP Academy all expanded and flourished around it, as educational institutions and developers restored old buildings to their former luster, bricks fell from the former hotel's Art Deco façade.

But in 2017, two women named Maria — Maria Yglesias and Maria Lopez — bought the building, hoping to turn it into market-rate apartments through their company, M&M Development.

On Wednesday, the two Marias saw their plans finally fully realized, as the ribbon was cut for the new Pierre Building apartments.

The six-story, 32-unit building had been occupied by squatters for years and when they acquired it, the first thing M&M had to do was remove trash and debris — more than 10 dumpster-sized containers of it. But Wednesday, while Mayor Frank Moran spoke about how "it took two Latina women to make this happen," the only clue to the mess were the before-and-after photos on easels in the lobby.

Photographs show the before-and-after of the restored fireplace in the Pierre Building's lobby.

The Art Deco building dates to 1932 and was originally a hotel; in its later incarnations it was an apartment building and a homeless shelter. It was empty, except for squatters and vagrants, since 2004, its top floor significantly compromised.

"One more winter, and I think it would've been gone," Lopez said in 2017.

The fireplace in the Pierre Building's lobby was restored to its original state, with colorful tilework and other details.

"In too much of the state, you would see an old building like this taken down, regardless of its importance to a historical district" to become a parking lot, noted Chuck Richman of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, which provided M&M with $6.3 million in construction and permanent funding. Instead, he said, "It needed to be saved, and the two Marias found a way to do it."

Moran, state Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez, Assemblyman Bill Spearman, Councilwoman Felicia Reyes-Morton and Camden County Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli toured the building, taking in its hardwood floors, restored exposed brick, and stainless steel appliances. 

Its lobby will also serve as a community art gallery, showcasing works by Camden-based artists. Jonathan Latko, president of the Cooper Grant Neighborhood Association, said residents were happy to have a blighted building turned into a historical asset that will draw people to Camden.

Camden Mayor Frank Moran talks about the new apartments in the Pierre Building with the Victor Lofts and the waterfront in the background.

"We have 1,000 people coming to work here," he said, referring to waterfront developments that include corporate headquarters for American Water, Conner Strong & Buckelew, NFI and The Michaels Organization. "We want them to live here, to spend their money here."

As he looked out of the windows of a 6th-floor unit, Moran took in views of the waterfront, City Hall, Cooper Street and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

The Radio Lofts building, just two blocks down Cooper Street, remains vacant and gutted as the city and its developer are embroiled in a legal dispute.

Moran pointed out a window.

"That's next," he said.

Phaedra Trethan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has covered Camden since 2015. She’s called South Jersey home since 1971. Contact her with feedback, news tips or questions at ptrethan@gannettnj.com, on Twitter @CP_Phaedra, or by phone at 856-486-2417.

Help support local journalism with a Courier-Post subscription.

Also in Camden: