By Jack Tomczuk<\/p>\n
A year ago, City Council was enmeshed in a fierce debate about whether the 76ers should be allowed to build a $1.3 billion basketball arena on a portion of the Fashion District property, along Market Street.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers went on to approve the plan<\/a> in December 2024; a month later, the team\u2019s owners, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, abandoned the project<\/a> and announced a partnership with Comcast Spectacor to build a new venue at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.<\/p>\n As part of that agreement, HBSE and Comcast created a joint venture and committed to participate in the redevelopment of eastern Market Street, a corridor that has never been able to recapture its glory days as the city\u2019s premier shopping destination.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter we all got over the shock and awe about what was not going to happen on Market East, I immediately shifted into my eternally optimistic view about how we\u2019re going to be able to move things forward,\u201d said Mayor Cherelle Parker, who vigorously promoted the arena plan before it was scrapped.<\/p>\n On Friday, Parker marked the \u201cbeginning of a comprehensive process\u201d to reimagine Market East, selecting a committee of more than 60 people to craft the vision and debuting a website<\/a> to solicit public feedback.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want anyone leaving here today saying that there is a plan that is baked, that is cooked, that is done, and it is a plan that will be shoved down the throats of Philadelphians,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is not what this is.\u201d<\/p>\n Even sans arena, HBSE and Comcast remain intimately involved, with the mayor referring to their venture as an \u201canchor partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnchor, to me, means stability,\u201d said Thomas J. Reid, Comcast\u2019s chief legal officer and secretary, during Friday\u2019s event. \u201cThat is good, but it kind of weighs the boat down. We\u2019re actually also going to be turbocharging this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the summer, HBSE and Comcast spent nearly $60 million buying properties on east Market. They are now moving to demolish some of those structures \u2014 on the south side of the 1000 block \u2014 \u201cas quickly as we can,\u201d Reid said. He added that the intention is for the sites to be used for \u201cWorld Cup activations.\u201d Their fate beyond 2026 remains unclear.<\/p>\n The Market East Advisory Group, as Parker\u2019s committee is known, comprises a wide variety of stakeholders and is being headed by Brandywine Realty Trust President and CEO Jerry Sweeney and two leaders from the city\u2019s Department of Planning and Development \u2013 Jessie Lawrence and Octavia Howell.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of us have memories of Market Street East of the past versus what it is today,\u201d Sweeney said. \u201cThe juxtaposition of what was and what could be again, I think, inspires every member of our advisory group.\u201d<\/p>\n He explained that the group will engage with the community and develop a vision for the corridor, taking economic realities into account. The plan will cover all of eastern Market Street, though the committee is focusing primarily on the area between City Hall and Independence Hall, according to the Mayor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Parker, during the kickoff, held up multiple prior planning documents for Market East, some of which date back at least 15 years. \u201cOur plan and our work will not collect dust,\u201d she said. \u201cIt will actually be implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n The advisory group will adopt short-, medium- and long-term goals, and recommendations will be implemented along the way, the mayor added. Some efforts, such as the renovation and reopening of the Filbert Street bus terminal and a $16 million reconstruction of Market Street in Old City<\/a>, are already underway, Parker said.<\/p>\n