Center City arena plan is missing its two most positive proposals | Editorial

Now that legislation for the proposed Sixers arena on East Market Street is fast-tracking its way through City Council, the elected officials decided to hold public hearings.

Talk about an afterthought.

Unfortunately, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Council seem more focused on political expediency than striking an arena deal that is best for Philadelphia.

Indeed, two of the strongest arguments for the proposed Center City sports venue — an apartment tower atop the arena and a $50 million community benefit agreement — have been, respectively, eliminated and diluted.

Initially, the Sixers proposed a $250 million high-rise apartment building above the arena. The 395 units included 20% designated as affordable housing.

» READ MORE: Now that Mayor Parker backs the Sixers arena, whither Chinatown? | Editorial

One of the main critiques for an arena is that it sits dark and empty many nights of the year, resulting in lifeless surrounding streets. The proposed apartments would inject activity into the neighborhood all year round.

Adding hundreds of residents would also create a demand for services along East Market Street. Perhaps the Giant Heirloom Market at Eighth and Market Streets would have remained open instead of closing next month. If not, another market would likely fill the void once more residents were living in the area.

Look no further than the transformation of Market Street between 11th and 12th Streets. The residential and office tower that opened there attracted a Wawa, an Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant, and other shops.

The apartment tower above the Sixers arena would bring residents to support the Fashion District and the restaurants in Chinatown. The apartment tower would provide needed affordable housing in Center City and spur additional development along East Market Street.

As such, the apartment tower could be a bigger game changer for the neighborhood than the arena.

But City Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the arena site, requested the Sixers drop the apartment tower because of opposition from neighboring Chinatown residents.

This is a shortsighted move that undermines the long-term benefits of the project.

The same goes for the Sixers’ offer to contribute $50 million toward a community benefit agreement. The money should go to support the Chinatown community since it will be most impacted by the arena.

But instead, only about $6 million is going to Chinatown, including $3 million for a small-business lending program, $1.6 million for grants to businesses impacted by the arena construction, and $1.25 million for sidewalk cleaning and a job-training program.

Just $500,000 is going to address traffic, parking, and quality-of-life issues. This makes no sense. The bulk of the money should go to mitigate these issues since they are the biggest drawbacks to the arena.

The rest of the money is getting whacked up to support projects of the mayor and Council. The largest allocation of $7 million is earmarked for Parker’s year-round school initiative. Another $4.5 million is going to another untested Parker initiative: a plan to train city residents for city jobs.

» READ MORE: Sixers arena proposal should not be a zero-sum game | Editorial

Once the $50 million gets carved up and watered down, the impact will be negligible.

The $1.55 billion arena proposal began with a promise to transform the beleaguered stretch of East Market Street that has struggled for decades. But the arena is not a perfect solution and faces stiff opposition from many residents, especially those in Chinatown.

That is all the more reason to make sure the arena is done right and brings the maximum benefit to the city.

If the arena plan is going to go forward, the residential tower should be restored, and the $50 million community benefits agreement should be targeted to support the surrounding community and not officials’ pet projects.