Philadelphia 76ers arena developers reveal planned high-rise will have 20% ‘affordable housing’
By Bryan Ke
The Philadelphia 76ers have revealed new renderings for their proposed arena, which include an adjacent high-rise meant to provide affordable housing.
Key details: 76 Devcorp, the developer behind the project, released the renderings on Wednesday.
The 20-story high-rise building, which would sit on the former Greyhound bus station located at the northern end of the 76 Place Philadelphia arena, will have 396 units, a fifth of which will be designated as “affordable housing,” the company announced in its recent news release.
The cost: The tower will reportedly add a $250 million cost to the already established $1.3 billion budget for the arena. Team spokesperson Nicole Gainer noted that the 76ers have yet to decide which income range it would use for the rents in the affordable units, Philly Voice reported.
Other plans: Besides the new high-rise proposal, the developer also unveiled the arena’s first floor, which features a promenade that would allow pedestrians to cross between Market Street and Cuthbert Street.
This move would also push the arena to move its event center to the arena’s second floor. In turn, this opens an opportunity for the developers to establish a new entrance to Jefferson Station for commuters.
Planned studies: The team noted that the newly added building is being considered in the three impact studies that the 76ers will pay for.
What the community is saying: Just as they doubted the aforementioned studies, the community is also doubtful about the latest development in the battle for Philadelphia’s Chinatown, with Jenny Zhang of the Save Chinatown Coalition telling CBS, “We can’t trust these folks with what they’re saying,” adding that the team leaders allegedly “made their careers off of displacement and helping to create the housing crisis.”
Interim Executive Director of Asian Americans United Neeta Patel, who spoke to Philly Voice, shared the same sentiment.
Coming on the heels: The latest development came nearly two weeks after the Philadelphia 76ers released its new proposed agreements for the $1.3 billion arena despite strong pushback efforts from the community.
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