December 20, 2024
During the final City Council session of 2024, City Council approved 11 bills that allow Philadelphia Sixers to build their new $1.3 Billion arena (76 Place) in Center City with a projected opening in late 2031.
The final vote on 10 of the 11 bills was 12 to 5. The yays were Council President Kenyatta Johnson (2nd District), Mark Squilla (1st District), Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District), Mike Driscoll (6th District), Quetcy M. Lozada (7th District), Cindy Bass (8th District), Anthony Phillips (9th District), Brian O’Neill (10th District) and Councilmembers At-Large Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Isaiah Thomas, Nina Ahmad and Jim Harrity while the nays were Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier (3rd District), Jeffery Young, Jr. (5th District), and Councilmembers At-Large Rue Landau, Kendra Brooks (Minority Leader) and Nicolas O’Rourke (Minority Whip).
On the eleventh bill, Bill #241062-A, the final vote was 14-3. No votes were Young, Brooks and O’Rourke.
The approved Sixers Arena bills were:
- Bill #240963: Would remove the site of the proposed Sixers arena from the existing Gallery At Market East Tax Increment Financing District because the arena site will be City owned land and therefore not subject to taxation. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240964-A: Creates a special services district to mitigate the impact of the arena on the surrounding community. The Arena Services District Authority will manage the district and provide services within it. The Authority would be funded by the Sixers through the Community Benefit Agreement (CBA). Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240966: Transaction ordinance, which includes approving the $60 Million CBA between the Sixers and the City of Philadelphia. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240967: Authorizing and approving the execution and delivery of a Service Agreement between The City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development to promote the growth and expansion of business, commerce and tourism within The City of Philadelphia in connection with the development of a multipurpose sports and entertainment facility, including an arena to accommodate National Basketball Association games, and family entertainment, community, retail and other uses. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240968: Removes Filbert Street between 10th and 11th Streets to provide space for the arena. It would allow changes to curbs, sidewalks, inlets, and fire hydrants as agreed by the Philadelphia Department of Streets and the Philadelphia Water Department. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240969: Authorizes replacement of the existing pedestrian bridge over 10th Street with a higher pedestrian bridge. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240970: Authorizes installation of protective bollards, planters, freestanding signs and bicycle racks on the sidewalks around the arena. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240971: Amends Philadelphia zoning laws in the arena area to allow large signs, freestanding signs, a roof logo, and full motion digital displays. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240972: Amends the Philadelphia Zoning code to set special rules for signs located in the arena area. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #240973: Removing the site of the proposed Sixers arena from the existing Gallery Neighborhood Improvement District because the arena site will be City owned land and therefore not subject to taxation. Vote 12-5.
- Bill #241062-A: Creation of a new Philadelphia Chinatown Overlay District. Vote 14-3.
The new arena will be in Councilmember Mark Squilla’s 1st District. Squilla first introduced the Sixers Arena legislation on October 24 to begin the arena discussion process. Resolutions #240999 and #241000 were approved back in October.
As has been the case at any hearing or Council sessions where the Sixers Arena legislation was discussed, this session was packed with people and raucous from the start. Several dozen protesters with the No Arena in the Heart of Our City Coalition came to the center of the Council floor minutes before the Council session was set to begin.
The protestors locked arms, sat on the floor and refused to leave after several requests from President Johnson. The protestors were removed by Philadelphia Sheriff Deputies and the Council session started 30 minutes late.
When the final votes on the arena were taken, the anti-arena protestors booed the councilmembers that voted yes while supporters of the arena burst into applause after the bills were passed.
Mayor Cherelle Parker held a press conference with President Johnson and other members after the vote. At the press conference, Parker and Johnson said the construction of the new arena will be the start of an economic renaissance for East Market Street.
The final vote on the Sixers Arena comes after Council’s Committee of the Whole held eight days of hearings in November and early December. Councilmembers had intense negotiations with Sixers officials from Dec 3-12 to address concerns expressed during the hearings by Councilmembers and the public. The Sixers bills had a first reading at the December 12 Council session and the final passage this week.
In the final days of negotiations, Council President Johnson pushed for the Sixers to increase how much they paid into the project’s CBA. The team initially offered $50 Million in the original CBA negotiated by Mayor Parker’s administration. The final agreement is now $60 Million, much of which will be used to aid the Chinatown community that will be impacted by the construction and operation of the arena.
Apart from the CBA, Council got Mayor Parker to pledge an investment of $20 million in city resources to support affordable housing in Chinatown as part of the deal. The pledge came in a letter sent to Councilmembers from Jessie Lawrence, Director of the City’s Department of Planning and Development.
Now that the Sixers Arena legislation has passed, demolition of parts of what is now known as the Fashion District would start in June 2026, construction would start at the end of August 2028 and 76 Place arena would open in August 2031. The area would have approximately 18,500 seats and 10,000 square feet of retail space.
Mayor Parker is expected to sign all the Sixers Arena legislation into law.
OTHER LEGISLATION WAS APPROVED DURING THE DECEMBER 19 CITY COUNCIL SESSION
Other notable bills approved on the December 19 final passage calendar were:
- Majority Whip Thomas and Minority Whip Nicolas O’Rourke’s legislation (Resolution #240834-A and Bill #240817) to create an independent Board and Office of Prison Oversight to address the city’s plagued justice system.
Now that the measure has been approved by the Council, it will soon be considered by the Philadelphia electorate on the May 2025 ballot.
The Board would be made up of four members appointed by the President of City Council, four members appointed by the Mayor, and one member appointed by the City Controller.
The appointments would not have to be confirmed by Council. The Council’s advice and consent will be required for the confirmation of the Mayor’s appointee to be the Director of the Office of Prison Oversight.
The duties of the Office of Prison Oversight would include, among other responsibilities determined by Council, increasing transparency and accountability, accessing and monitoring Philadelphia Department of Prisons facilities, databases and documents, meeting with staff and incarcerated people, and developing community education programs. The Philadelphia Prison Community Oversight Board would be tasked with holding monthly public meetings and making further recommendations to the Office and Philadelphia Department of Prisons on matters of policy and best practice.
The other resolutions and bills that were approved on final passage were #241134 (Gilmore Richardson for President Johnson), #241137 (Gauthier), #241142 (Driscoll), #241084 (Squilla), #240817 (Thomas), #241022 (Gilmore Richardson for President Johnson), and #241023 (Gilmore Richardson for President Johnson).
CITYWIDE STREETLIGHTING PROJECT CREATES JOBS, SUPPORTS PUBLIC SAFETY, AND FIGHTS CLIMATE CHANGE
The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) and Councilmember Harrity (At-Large) earlier this week toured the final assembly pod at American Power Electrical Supply Company – a manufacturing facility in West Philadelphia for 40,000 light fixtures being installed across Philadelphia as part of the Philadelphia Streetlight Improvement Project (PSIP).
American Power Electrical Supply Company, a minority business entity, set up an on-site final assembly pod and hired a local team of six young people to assemble and test 40,000 fixtures for use on PSIP. Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH Philly) focuses on finding local partners and placing young people into paid work experiences and opportunities, along with supportive services.
YEAH Philly and American Power collaborated to hire young people who have been impacted directly by violence to staff the assembly pod. The project lead, Ameresco, and the lighting manufacturer Acuity Brands, worked with American Power and the PSIP team to devise and execute this local assembly strategy.
Preliminary results from a forthcoming study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Crime and Justice Policy Lab shows a strong link between the installation of new LED streetlights and reductions in outdoor and nighttime crimes, in particular. The study is tracking data as streetlights are installed citywide and will be continuously updated to quantify the impacts of the city’s new infrastructure as a key tool for improving public safety.
In addition to final assembly jobs, the Streets Department used its Future Track program to support PSIP’s alleyway clearing to allow access to fixture replacements, supporting employment of over 200 people and training for future City employment.
For more information on the PSIP program, go to phillystreetlightimprovement.com
PENNSYLVANIA GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO AND LT. GOV AUSTIN DAVIS’ ADMINISTRATION DELIVERS $4 MILLION IN NEW FEDERAL FUNDING TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE AND MAKE PENNSYLVANIA SAFER
Councilmembers Jeffery Young (5th District) and Cindy Bass (8th District) joined Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), last week and announced a $4 Million Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) grant at Temple University Hospital, which runs a hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP), a model that PCCD will work to expand across the Commonwealth with the new federal funding.
With the $4 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Shapiro-Davis Administration is continuing to invest in evidence-based strategies to make Pennsylvania communities safer and combat gun violence.
THE 2025 COUNCIL SESSIONS WILL START ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 23
The December 19 special session of Philadelphia City Council was the final Council session of 2024. Council is now on winter recess from holding regular Council sessions and committee hearings, but Council offices will still be open to help with residents’ concerns and issues.
Council held 32 sessions this year. Council had two previously scheduled sessions postponed or cancelled due to the death of longtime City Council Chief Clerk Michael Decker in February and to allow councilmembers to attend the September funeral for the late Philadelphia Police Sergeant Jaime Roman, who was killed in the line of duty.
The Chief Clerk’s Office has announced that the next Council session will be on Thursday, January 23 at 10 a.m. in City Council chambers. Monitor phlcouncil.com for updates.
Council’s Communications Team wishes everyone a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year 2025.
