‘Won’t you be my neighbor?’ | An Arena for All
For 76 Place to succeed, the Sixers, city leaders, and community stakeholders should work together to address concerns about displacement, development, and long-term investments in the area.
The proposed 76ers arena could be a game changer.
Positioned in the heart of Center City, 76 Place could be a defining civic landmark — a showcase of design that redefines Market Street. But to become a true landmark, the arena must be a good neighbor. This means taking the time to understand the needs of adjacent communities and reflect Philadelphia’s identity and the building’s surroundings.
Unfortunately, the current design shows little commitment to creating meaningful connections to Chinatown or Market East. Without a clear regard for thoughtful design and community context, the arena risks becoming a flash point for displacement and squandered potential, rather than a symbol of civic pride.
It’s essential that through design and policy, the Sixers and our city leaders can ensure 76 Place is one piece of a larger, mixed-use, cohesive district that supports residents and visitors.
Being a good neighbor starts with embracing and respecting Chinatown.
It means taking the time to understand the needs of the community. The current design for 76 Place falls short of demonstrating a commitment to these ideas. As it stands, the proposed arena is yet another pressure point pushing against Chinatown’s sense of place and cultural identity. Current renderings fail to show meaningful connections to Chinatown and instead seem to present a blank facade turning its back on the adjacent community, rather than a piece of the local urban fabric. Ignoring meaningful connections to Chinatown will impede the arena’s potential to jump-start new community-serving development.
We also must consider how the arena will interact with Market Street. Market East’s future depends on a vibrancy that attracts residents, businesses, and visitors. The arena could play a critical role in shaping a Market Street revitalization, but the Sixers’ potential signage plan would almost certainly hinder this revival.
Pending zoning legislation would allow an unprecedented amount of signage to be placed on the arena — surpassing even the expansive signage allowances for the Fashion District. Current renderings of 76 Place mainly show a digital ribbon along Market Street and several smaller signs featuring the team’s logo.
The proposal before City Council, however, would increase allowable signage well beyond that. It would permit brighter digital billboards over six times larger than what is allowed today — in essence, covering the arena in advertisements. This Times Square-level signage along Market Street could overpower the streetscape behind a bright wall of advertisements and stall the street’s chances of attracting more residential development.
For 76 Place to succeed, the Sixers, city leaders, and community stakeholders should work together to address concerns about displacement, development, and long-term investments in the area. This forces some questions to the surface:
What tools can help protect Chinatown’s culture and identity? As the Preservation Alliance has noted, Chinatown’s backyard is the city’s front yard. Encouraging the Sixers and city leaders to think about Chinatown as an integral gateway is an opportunity to more fully honor it as a historic and important neighborhood. The development team should consider how to incorporate new spaces programmed by the Chinatown community.
In addition, developing programs to support local independent businesses, expand affordable housing, and incentivize historic preservation in Chinatown are key. Recently proposed legislation from Councilmember Mark Squilla is a good start.
What signage standards should be put in place to support Market East’s future? Signs should support, not detract from, the area’s vitality. Market Street isn’t Times Square. Appropriately scaled and integrated displays can attract attention without compromising Market East’s future. Ultrabright, animated advertisements pose a risk to the character, comfort, and safety of the streetscape. Signage should be incorporated more subtly into the building’s design to enhance the structure as a civic landmark.
The decisions made now will determine whether 76 Place becomes a beacon of city pride or a stand-alone, digital island. The Sixers, city leaders, and the community must make choices that connect and enrich rather than separate and displace. The arena and our policy decisions must be in service to a larger, cohesive urban fabric, not isolated from it.
Harris M. Steinberg, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is the executive director of the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University. To learn more about these principles and our analysis, visit the Lindy Institute’s Civic Design Studio website.