Luxury Redevelopment In Cherry Hill Changes Owners After History Of Setbacks

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The final component of a two-decade, billion-dollar redevelopment project in Cherry Hill has changed hands once again. Plaza Grande's new owner plans to add nearly 300 homes and complete the construction of the luxury complex in Garden State Park.

Garden State Park sits on the former site of the Garden State Park Racetrack — a prominent horse-racing track until its closure in 2001. Located at Haddonfield Road and Chapel Avenue, Garden State Park has transformed into a retail and residential complex in 20 years of redevelopment. But Plaza Grande, a 55-and-older community, remains an incomplete portion of the redevelopment master plan from 2002.

Procida Funding & Advisors had financed Plaza Grande's previous owners, who completed 224 units in the active-adult community. CEO Billy Procida acquired the property last July, with plans to complete the remaining 283 homes.

"It's an amazing location with the best clubhouse anywhere," Procida said in a statement, "with indoor and outdoor saltwater pools, club rooms, gym, yoga studio, movie theater, and a soon-to-be-included golf simulator room, and you can walk to everything you need."

It's uncertain when the 500-unit complex will be complete. A spokesperson for the Procida firm told Patch that a timeline has not been disclosed, but additional one- and two-bedroom homes will become available this month.

The project has faced obstacles, and multiple ownership changes, since it began 20 years ago. In 2002, Florida-based developer Turnberry Associates Inc. had closed and razed the racetrack. Turnberry and Pennsylvania's Realen Properties planned to redevelop the property into a mixed-use "town center."

Turnberry-Realen's proposal received criticism from neighboring businesses and residents at the time. But many elements of the plan for the 330-acre racetrack site have come to fruition.

Construction of Plaza Grande began in 2004, after D.R. Horton purchased the 33-acre property. However, the national homebuilder faced setbacks during the Great Recession.

An affiliate of Pennsylvania-based Tristate Ventures took over the site in 2014, with Procida's financing. Procida has now purchased the property for an undisclosed price and intends to complete the residential complex.

Garden State Park features a range of condominiums and rentals. Its retail stores include Costco, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Trader Joe's.