APARTMENT CONDEMNATION UPHELD CHERRY HILL DESIGNATED THE COMPLEX A REHAB ZONE. THE OWNER SUED, SAYING HE HAD BEEN UNFAIRLY RUSHED.

Jennifer Farrell, INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF

The Baltimore surgeon who owns the Cherry Hill Apartments lost his bid yesterday to block Mayor Susan Bass Levin from completing the condemnation of his property.

In an afternoon hearing, Judge Francis J. Orlando Jr. of Camden County Superior Court rejected a claim from owner Charles Edwards that the township acted unfairly last year when it declared the run-down, 41-year-old complex on Route 38 a redevelopment zone.

The move would allow the township to take possession of the 12-acre property and sell it to another developer.

"The board was faced with property in a prime location that was unsafe, unsanitary and dilapidated," Orlando said. "There was no guarantee that he [Edwards] would use his resources for this project."

The judge agreed with Edwards' contention that the township unfairly denied his requests for a postponement to prepare a defense before designating the property a redevelopment zone, but said that it was not enough to overturn the township's actions.

Edwards' attorney, Gilbert Brooks of Cherry Hill , said he would recommend his client appeal the decision.

"The bottom line is that it does need to be rehabbed," Brooks said in an interview yesterday. "We're saying give us some time."

Brooks said his client bought the twin 12-story buildings in 1996 for $10 million with the intent of fixing them up. But the plan stalled, according to Brooks, when Edwards' other business - Kiwi Airlines - went bankrupt, causing him to run out of money.

In August 1998, the apartments were deemed "unfit for human habitation," and Edwards was cited by township, county and state agencies for violations ranging from faulty lighting to dead animals on the premises. The complex's 61 tenants were placed in other local apartments .

Edwards sued the township, saying officials had not given him time to finish the cleanup. He has since argued that the township failed to give him enough time to close on a $13.5 million sales agreement with Viking Associates, a developer based in Morrisville, Pa.

Levin dismissed Brooks' argument that the township had made a "rush to judgment."

"The agreement of sale was signed a year ago, and nothing has happened," the mayor said after the hearing. Levin added that she would move forward quickly with plans to condemn the parcel, which she estimated to be worth $7 million. Levin said developers were interested in rehabilitating the complex into luxury apartments .

Orlando said he would rule next month on a motion filed yesterday by Viking Associates seeking to join Edwards' lawsuit against the town.