Leaders in Camden are calling out the owners of an abandoned gas station that they claim has attracted illegal dumping, vandalism and other unruly activity that has racked up several violation codes.
The gas station, located off of Admiral Wilson Boulevard, has California-based property owners who have not paid any of the fines, according to the City of Camden leaders.
Graffiti can be seen on the walls of the abandoned gas station, there’s piles of trash and run down gas pumps.
This has been an ongoing issue for years.
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On Tuesday, city crews went to work cutting down overgrown grass and weeds at the gas station.
“It's become a haven for crime and it's become a haven for negative activity,” Mayor of Camden Victor Carstarphen said.
City leaders held a press conference on Tuesday where they called out Pontus Capital, the California-based property owners of the gas station, for their negligence.
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“And this is one of those deals where these absentee landlords need to come back to Camden, leave Boca Raton, and come back to Camden and take care of their properties like everybody else has to do in Camden,” County Commissioner Al Dyer said.
According to the city, the LLC has at least 12 issued violations of property mismanagement for just 2024. They said the owners have been fined for years but have not paid.
A lien was issued for the clean-up that’s underway at the gas station, costing a minimum of $25,000.
“We're going to continue to assign fines. We will continue to take legal action against the owner.”
Pontus Capital said in a statement that the property is under a lease agreement with an owner who just filed for bankruptcy.
“Under the terms of this lease, the tenant bears full responsibility for property maintenance and continuous operation,” Pontus Capital said in a statement. “Pontus remains committed to working constructively with the City of Camden to address these issues.”
Nearby business employees of the gas station are relieved the issue is finally being addressed.
“It does hurt a bit because it impacts the curb appeal that we have here,” Isaac Diaz, a salesman with American and Foreign Auto Sales, said.
