A newly vacant site near Philly’s stadiums could become a huge apartment, office, and entertainment complex

A mammoth new development is being planned in South Philadelphia’s stadium district, featuring six buildings, 1,367 residential units, an office tower, and an entertainment complex.

The proposal, from international development group Hines, would be built just to the east of the Live! Casino and Hotel, on land owned by Mark Nicoletti’s Philadelphia Suburban Development Corporation (PSDC). Until recently it was occupied by Parx Casino’s South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook and Packer Avenue Foods.

“Hines, an international real estate firm … has a history of developing best-in-class communities and great spaces in Philadelphia, and their desire to build a multimillion-dollar project in the sports stadium district is exciting,” said City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, who had legislation introduced to enable the project.

“The collective partnership between Hines and PSDC … will finally give Philadelphia an opportunity to live, work, and play in the stadium district,” Johnson said.

PSDC is a major landholder in Philadelphia and owns many parcels across the city. Neither Nicoletti nor his zoning lawyer responded to requests for comment. Hines declined to comment.

Johnson, whose district includes the site just northeast of Citizens Bank Park, had a bill introduced on Nov. 14 that would change the site’s zoning from allowing only industrial businesses to a category that would allow dense residential and commercial development.

The bill would also create an overlay — essentially a patch on the zoning code to create hyperlocal rule tweaks — to allow changes that wouldn’t otherwise be allowed under the new zoning, like “assembly and entertainment” uses and roof decks on a nonresidential building. Those overlay provisions will expire within two years of the bill becoming law if zoning permits have not been issued at the site, which includes about half the land south of Packer Avenue toward Pattison Avenue between Darien and Seventh Streets.

The project would include 1,234 parking spaces in the base of the six buildings. A “restaurant and entertainment complex” would include much of the 65,000 square feet of dining space. And 125,000 square feet of retail would be spread among the buildings. Four of the six buildings would be largely residential.

“This would create a mixed-use neighborhood that would provide amenities to support itself, as well as those visiting the sports complex,” said Dan Farrell, a municipal transportation planner, during a presentation to the Philadelphia Planning Commission on Thursday afternoon.

At the Thursday meeting, commissioners seemed confused about the intent of the legislation’s sunset clause. While the overlay for the project would sunset after two years if the project does not secure permits, it appears that the change from industrial to mixed-use residential and commercial development would remain.

“The zoning change wouldn’t be contingent on this project,” said Dawn Summerville of the Commerce Department, who sits on the Planning Commission, at the meeting. “So realistically, anything else could be built besides this with the new changes.”

This form of so-called spot zoning — altering land-use rules to benefit a single project — is frowned upon in urban-planning best practices, as it can create the appearance of impropriety. If a politician or planner alters the land-use rules on just one property, it can juice the value of the land in a manner that benefits the property owner.

Johnson’s sunset clause appears to address such concerns, although his office did not respond to a question about its intent.

And although Philadelphia’s zoning code reform of 2012 was meant to reduce the practice of spot zoning in the city, it is still a common practice in City Council.

The Hines and PSDC project comes at a time of renewed attention to the stadium complex area, as the 76ers attempt to move to a proposed arena in Center City.

The owner of their current home at the Wells Fargo Center, Comcast Spectacor, has unveiled ambitious plans to the west of the PSDC site to develop an even larger $2.5 billion housing and entertainment project.

At present, their plans have been manifest in only a renovation and expansion of the Xfinity Live! bar. But the company, which also owns the Flyers, says it plans to transform the sea of parking lots around the stadiums.

The Hines and PSDC project could complement those ambitions.

“The project will create jobs and important economic development … and will serve as the catalyst for the stadium district as it begins to transform,” Johnson said.