Cherry Hill seeks a new vision for Route 70

Under his plan, the Garden State Pavilions would be transformed into a downtown district of multifamily housing and small retail stores.

After the community's input is assembled, Slachetka will devise a land-use plan that incorporates the various components of Cherry Hill's vision for the future. He said the challenge was finding a balance between competing interests.

"Balance is the essence of the planning process," he said. "It becomes a question of compromise and prioritizing the most important factors for the community."

McCullum remembers the first weekend after he moved to Cherry Hill from Philadelphia in 1964. He took his family to eat at the Farm, one of the Golden Triangle's many upscale restaurants.

"A lot of the jockeys and track officials went there, and my children were playing peek-a-boo around the booth," he said. "They gave us clubhouse passes, so we went."

For years, he went to the track with his family and, now, he and the Historical Commission are trying to preserve the gatehouse while the rest of Cherry Hill changes around it.

"I hope the builder does something with it," he said. "The rest is all gone. You can't bring it back."