Owners and developers of the proposed new Sixers arena have met with leaders who claim stakes in Chinatown. The meetings have been getting larger. Is the strategy winning converts?
Sixers chief executive Tad Brown, developer David Adelman, and other team leaders on Sunday stepped up efforts to promote to a larger audience in Chinatown the pro basketball team’s planned $1 billion-plus, privately fundedThey pitched the arena, first announced in July, to more than 200 members of cultural, business and immigrant societies‚ part of the Philadelphia Chinese Community Organization United umbrella group, in an hourlong presentation in the banquet room of Ocean City restaurant on...
The 18,500-seat arena at 11th and Market would serve as the anchor for a new entertainment district studded with restaurants, bars, shops and, eventually, apartment towers. Its proponents pledged Sunday to hear and address the neighbors’ safety, affordability and traffic concerns, and said the arena would replace a declining shopping area and bus station by 2031.
“With the news coming out about this, all the businesses and residents are really concerned — what’s the effect for traffic, safety, business and residents?” Zhang added. He said he appreciated the 76ers’ willingness to take questions, and urged the crowd to stay “calm and peaceful.” Community leaders say PCCOU is one of several organizations — others include the Chinatown Business Association, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp., and Chinese Benevolent Association — whose leaders are forming a “steering committee” to receive the Sixers’ proposed Community Benefits Agreement. They expect that will direct up to $50 million over a period of years to public safety, early-housing project financing, traffic and other initiatives to ease negative impacts of the arena.
Adelman and David Gould, the Sixers’ chief diversity and inclusion officer, acknowledged what Adelman called the “terrible” history of highway and public construction projects that had demolished parts of Chinatown in past decades, sometimes after promises he says developers did not fulfill. In a nod to concerns that arena parking will displace drivers who shop in Chinatown and inconvenience neighborhood car owners, Adelman said the team has made arrangements with dozens of neighborhood parking garages to validate fan parking, so they don’t compete for curb space — a major concern of Steven Zhu, who heads the Philadelphia Chinese Restaurant Association.Gould said the $1.9 billion project will generate lasting jobs after construction concludes in 2031.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Can Sixers sway Philly’s Chinese leaders to accept 2030 arena?Owners and developers of the proposed new Sixers arena have been meeting with leaders who claim stakes in nearby Chinatown. The meetings have been getting larger. Is the strategy winning converts?
Read more »
Firefighter injured while battling blaze at Chinese herbal medicine shop in Chicago's ChinatownChang Ying Ginseng Hong is a Chinese herbal medicine shop that's been in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood for more than 30 years.
Read more »
Firefighter in 'good shape' after being hurt fighting Chinatown fireThe smoke could be seen from miles away.
Read more »
Sixers-Hawks takeaways: Doc Rivers’ busy day, Joel Embiid’s coming into form, and grueling seriesDaily News | Sixers-Hawks takeaways: Doc Rivers’ busy day, Joel Embiid’s coming into form, and grueling series
Read more »
Why business owners need a backup succession planBe sure you’ve coordinated your estate plan and other agreements, where appropriate, with your business succession plan.
Read more »