That sky tram to Philly we never finished? Take it, port authority says

The Delaware River Port Authority is trying to sell of the rights to an unfinished project it started years ago.

CAMDEN -- At its meeting Wednesday, the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) took a number of steps directly related to recent waterfront redevelopment proposals as well as projects on the other side of the Delaware River.

The Courier-Post reports that the DRPA voted to negotiate the sale of the long-stagnant sky tram from Camden to Philadelphia it sunk millions of dollars into as well as parking lot "nine" in front of The Victor apartment building to Liberty Property Trust.

"Liberty Property Trust has expressed an interest in the purchase of air rights and real estate in order to implement their redevelopment plan for the construction of commercial, residential, and public park facilities on the Camden waterfront," according to the agenda for Wednesday's meeting.

What's next for stadium?

Liberty Property Trust is planning an $830 million project that will include residential, commercial and transportation options.

Remnants of the unfulfilled tram project, which dates back decades, includes a massive concrete structure at Penn's Landing, in Philadelphia. Detractors have often ridiculed the above-ground tram mooring as a Stonehenge-like monolith and resembling the symbol for "Pi."

According to the DRPA's 2012 annual report, the authority spent $18.3 million dollars on the project. That total was listed as a "loss on abandonment of aerial tram project

Per the report, the DRPA also voted to apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation grant that would cover roughly half of the $26.3 million it would cost to re-open the shuttered Franklin Square PATCO train station just shy of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

The DRPA meeting agenda notes that the underground train stop was closed in 1978. It was later addressed in a 2014 site condition assessment and is now part of the authority's capital program.

The report also adds that the DRPA is working on a sale of another parking facility to make way for a $28 million six-story garage.