By EILEEN STILWELL
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN -- It is impossible these days to see the water from the gritty, industrial Waterfront neighborhood where Kaighn Avenue meets the Delaware River.
Blocked by towering weeds and a circa-1930 warehouse, the 6.5-acre site looks forgotten, obsolete and, at best, worthless.
That will change in August, when construction is slated to begin on a new pier for commercial vessels and the creation of 371,000 square feet of refrigerated warehouse space for perishable cargo.
The $33 million Kaighn Point project, a combination of private money with substantial public support, is the first major investment in the city's newly created Empowerment Zone.
At the helm of the project is Tom Holt, the region's largest private marine operator. His interests include warehousing, stevedoring, trucking and ship chartering in Gloucester City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wilmington.
Holt saw the potential for the abandoned site at Kaighn Point and bought it from Camden Refrigerating and Terminals Corp. in 1990 for $1.5 million. In February, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued a waterfront development permit to CRT, Inc., a Holt family-owned entity. Final permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is pending, according to Corps spokesman Rich Chlan.
Holt, revered and feared on the Waterfront for his diversified and aggressive business style, controls two massive marine terminals in the shadow of the Walt Whitman Bridge on both sides of the Delaware River.
Holt Hauling & Warehouse Systems Inc. owns the terminal built on the old New York Shipbuilding Co. south yard in Gloucester City. Holt Cargo Systems Inc. operates the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia under a long-term lease with Pennsylvania.
Holt estimates the firms' combined net income to be $7 million on $122 million in sales last year, compared to $5.5 million in income on $87 million of sales in 1994, according to data submitted to the Camden County Improvement Authority.
Kaighn Point marks Holt's debut in Camden City and he is a welcome player, according to municipal counsel Morris Smith. It also marks the first time the city and county have agreed to share tax revenues.
"This is an important project for the city, and the mayor's attitude is very positive," said Smith.
Mayor Arnold W. Webster did not return phone calls last week. He has promised, in writing, to loan Holt Hauling $1 million to close the deal, but it is unknown where the city ... the fifth-poorest in the nation ... will get that money. Bringing the fruit trade?
Bernard Gelman, chief financial officer for the Holt organization, declined to say how the new piers and warehouse space would be used ... claiming it would tip off competitors.
However, it is no secret the Chilean Fruit Line is dissatisfied with its long-term landlord at the Tioga Terminal in Philadelphia and is shopping around. Holt has already managed to bring the lion's share of the Chilean trade from Philadelphia to Gloucester City, but 50,000 tons of fruit a year still come to the port across the river.
Last month, Kent Lines began calling weekly at the Gloucester City Marine Terminal with cargo from Central America and the Caribbean, and Holt is trying to expand trade with Puerto Rico, sources said.
Phase one of the Kaighn Point project calls for the restoration of an eight-story refrigerated warehouse ($6 million) and the construction of 1,130 feet of piers ($11.3 million), plus dredging and site preparation. The total cost: $23 million.
Phase two calls for construction of a new 87,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse ($10 million).
The two phases of the project carry the promise of between 100 and 250 permanent new jobs, officials say.
Financial dealings
The deal illustrates the complex field of doing business on the fiercely competitive Camden Waterfront.
Holt will sell the project site to the county improvement authority for about $1.5 million. This will allow the authority to finance the deal with $16.2 million in tax-free bonds. In return, the authority will lease the site back to Holt for 30 years, with an option to buy at any time.
Last week, the Camden County board of freeholders agreed to guarantee an additional $3 million loan to close the deal.
Improvement authority executive director Philip P. Rowan said all businesses would not be eligible for such preferential financing, but Holt is part of the sought-after maritime industry.
Once the property is sold to the improvement authority, the land becomes tax-exempt. CRT has paid about $28,000 a year in taxes to the city since 1990. Holt has agreed to pay $144,000 a year in lieu of taxes on the improved site. The county will receive 60 percent, the city 40 percent.
"Camden is still a tough deal to sell to underwriters. Holt is a trailblazer here. Maybe his entrance to the city's Waterfront will make the next project easier," said Rowan. "A good customer"
Within the last three years, Holt has borrowed $42 million through the improvement authority for improvements at the Gloucester terminal. "He's a good customer. He has good credit and he makes every payment on time," Rowan said.
To get permission to dredge and fill at Kaighn Point, Holt has agreed to a swap. Holt will restore two acres of degraded Camden County park land along Newton Creek to its natural state, and the state will permit the dredging.
Not everyone is pleased with the Kaighn Point project, because the river is already dotted with underused facilities. But Holt is already suing the public port agencies for unfair business practices, so few are willing to comment.
Paul D. DeMariano, executive director of the Port of Philadelphia and Camden, said he was unaware of Holt's plan. His bi-state agency is supposed to merge the public ports and generate cooperation among all commercial users of the river.
"Entrepreneurs like Mr. Holt should not be discouraged," DeMariano said. "If he has a business plan that can support that much financial risk, then go for it. If he is seeking some form of public subsidy, however, I think he has an obligation to look for the highest and best use of land, to join the team, and not duplicate unnecessarily."
For his part, Tom Holt says the Kaighn Point project is the best use of that land ... and one that will enhance the Camden port.
