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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Developer unveils $100M plan for Spectrum land
Architect's rendering of the Philly Live Project. Image courtesy Warren Strovel Design Collective

A plan to bring life to the vast asphalt desert at Philadelphia’s sports complex took another step forward today when a Baltimore developer released drawings for a $100 million entertainment center connecting the Wachovia Center to Citizens Bank Park.

The glitzy architectural renderings, which were presented to the city Planning Commission, showed a two-block-long, diagonal street running between the two sports venues, across the land now occupied by the Spectrum. Modeled on such destinations as Boston’s Quincy Market and Baltimore’s Power Point Live, the street would be lined with restaurants, bars and shops.

 

The project would replace the Spectrum, which is scheduled to be demolished early next year. It is being developed jointly by Comcast-Spectacor and the Cordish Company, the developer behind much of the nightlife at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Posted by Inga Saffron @ 6:01 PM  Permalink | 80 comments
Comments   
Posted 06:30 PM, 07/21/2009
rajesingh
correction to article: Power Plant Live is the venue in Baltimore
Posted 06:42 PM, 07/21/2009
PHILLYINNE
this is dumb, cant wait for it to fail all over snyders face
Posted 06:48 PM, 07/21/2009
LGbalsac
I wonder who will be the first person shot in the parking? This things will make the Phillies much less family friendly, especially the weekend night games. Bang Bang there's another open seat on the bus.
Posted 06:54 PM, 07/21/2009
catnameddomino
Do they really expect people to start heading down to the stadium area when no teams are playing? Get real, this will die a slow and painful death.
Posted 06:59 PM, 07/21/2009
rascal b. schuylkillian
I think it will be great. This will create jobs and improve the social element at the sports complex. All you complainers can stay home.
Posted 07:05 PM, 07/21/2009
SoundGround
I agree - this place will be great. lots of things for everyone. It's about time we capitalize more with that space down there.
Posted 07:05 PM, 07/21/2009
Todd Pratt
They need to have a bar in there. McFaddens has done wonders for the Phillies.
Posted 07:10 PM, 07/21/2009
MJMcDevitt
Let's get started and get people to WORK!!
Posted 07:13 PM, 07/21/2009
Fed_up_with_bs
8$ beers, overpriced junk, and lousy fast food? ... I’ll be in the parking lot with a cooler, a sandwich from Tony Luke’s, and my radio
Posted 07:16 PM, 07/21/2009
ROBPHI
I am jealous. I am a Phillies fan that grew up in the area and I now live in Atlanta. It is really nice to see how far that area has come. This is a wonderful venue and it will thrive. There are so, so many travelers that stay at the airport (including me when I come for business( and there hasn't been much within close proximity of the airport....this is a good opportunity for the business travelers and also the post game parties. Fans there should be grateful and look at how bad other cities are!
Posted 07:16 PM, 07/21/2009
johnnyMo
about time ... now 45,000 people will have something to do after a game other than sitting in traffic ... the cubs have wrigglyville, the red sox have yawkey way and the yankees have river street ... soon philly will have "philly live" ... oh well, its just a name ... great idea, but a dumb name
Posted 07:20 PM, 07/21/2009
steakhead
Less parking and more people, brilliant.
Posted 07:24 PM, 07/21/2009
publius sempronius tuditanus
It will only happen if the suckers , that is , the taxpayers pick up most of the tab , like they did for the stadiums .
Posted 07:25 PM, 07/21/2009
DrexelDragonFan
Let's live up to our reputation as the best tailgaters in the country and tailgate the construction of this project!
Posted 07:28 PM, 07/21/2009
Tatts
Manufactured fun full of the same chain stores and chain restaurants that serve least common denominator food in the 'burbs. The difference between this and Inner Harbor is that there's always a reason to go to Inner Harbor (Md. Science Center, harbor tours, National Aquarium, Fort McHenry, etc.), and its on the edge of the business district and historic district. There's nothing like that down in the sports complex. This will die an ugly death.
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About Inga Saffron
Inga Saffron believes there is architecture and there are places, and you can’t write about one without writing about the other. Since becoming the Inquirer’s architecture critic in 1999, she has been just as likely to turn her eye toward Philadelphia’s waterfronts and sidewalks as to the latest glittering skyscraper. She is drawn to projects of all sizes and shapes, but especially those that form the backdrop of our daily lives.

Inga Saffron came to architecture criticism after five years as a foreign correspondent in Russia and Yugoslavia, where she covered two wars and was a witness to the destruction of two great cities, Sarajevo and Grozny. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2004, 2008 and 2009.

Read previous entries on her Skyline Online blog.

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