SugarHouse Casino Approved By City Planning Commission
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SugarHouse Casino Approved By City Planning Commission
Chris Brennan
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission approved this afternoon a plan of development for SugarHouse, a casino proposed for 22 acres of Delaware riverfront in Fishtown. With zoning and parking changes approved by City Council two weeks ago and signed into law by Mayor Nutter last week, the OK from the City Planning Commission represents the last major hurdle for the project's investors to get moving on construction. [You can download the SugarHouse plan here but be warned: It's a huge file.]
The plan was approved in a 4-2 vote. One commission member, Nancy Rogo Trainer, said she was troubled by the "suburban character" of the SugarHouse plan. "It could be almost anywhere and not on the banks of the Delaware," she added. "I think it's a missed opportunity." Member Joe Syrnick worried that planned paths along the riverfront were "rather skimpy" for crowds he anticipated from casino customers and others. Member Natalia Olson de Savyckyj joined Trainer in voting against the plan, later calling it a "dressed-up Wal-Mart" and the wrong type of development for the riverfront. Syrnick voted for the plan with Nilda Ruiz, Peggy Van Belle and Anuj Gupta.
About a dozen anti-casino and neighborhood activists protested before and during the hearing. During testimony, four of the activists called the hearing a "farce" and a "testament to poor city planning." They tossed bags of fake cash, meant to represent the influence of casino investors, onto the stage where the commission was sitting.
SugarHouse was approved along with Foxwoods, the city's second casino, by the state Gaming Control Board in December 2006. Both projects were hampered for years, first by City Council, neighborhood groups and anti-gambling activists, and then last year by Nutter's new administration. That changed earlier this year after a series of pro-casino rulings by the state Supreme Court and a threat from the state General Assembly to strip Philadelphia of millions in benefits from gaming taxes.
Nutter and Councilman Frank DiCicco announced with SugarHouse in early April that the project would start with an interim casino with 1,700 slot machines surrounded by surface parking lots. Those lots will be transformed in later phases into a larger casino and a 3,000-space parking garage. SugarHouse says it expects to open the interim casino between April and June of next year. The state Gaming Control Board in May approved those changes to the SugarHouse plan.
A Pew Charitable Trusts poll in April found that city residents support the SugarHouse location 60 percent to 35 percent while Foxwoods, originally proposed for South Philly but now planning on a Center City site, was opposed 57 percent to 39 percent.
Traffic on that stretch of I-95 is pretty bad right now. Think about adding a good 300 to 400 cars an hour to the traffic jam there. Ouch!! Wonder how many palms they greased to get this approved...— DonQ- Traffic comes with progress, it's a fact of life. We'll find a way to deal with it. Besides, not a lot of people rush to the slots with the 9-5ers. It's mostly an evening/weekend crowd. Nonetheless, traffic=money and the sooner that happens, the sooner the hipsters can stop chanting their doomsday scenarios and please-think-of-the-children-isms and we can all go on with our lives.— Philatonian
- Posted by Philatonian 10:36 AM, 09/15/2008 How lovely to see the pessamistic old world Philadelphian mentality isn't just on the streets, it's in our journalism too. Thank you Mike Armstrong for promoting failure in the truly antiquated fashion of a 1980's Philadelphian. Luckily for the new faces and fresh ideas circulating in this town, the opinions of Philadelphia Inquirer are as outdated as you and have about as much clout as the doomsdayers outside the could-be casino on Market East. how's this for a hipster complaint?— xlilmikeyx
Comment removed.- Nice, now we can all take our unemployment and welfare checks and try to double them up.— Pheagles
- Casinos=Drop of home values in the area since it drives off families. Since I don't live there it doesn't effect me, but the thought of adult only entertainment on the waterfront seems pretty dumb. Casinos are dropped in poor areas for a reason. Rich people don't want them but want the profit.— phillyylliph
- Omigosh - you mean the deep pockets won the case?— daniel_99
- where can i apply at?— rayne215
- bad news for a solid area.— chudclay
- The Equalityman is very pleased with this approval by the City Planning Commission. To address transparency, the Equalityman would also again urge the CasinoFree organization to disclose the list of its donors so the public can see if they are being funded by Atlantic City interests who do not want casinos in Philadelphia.— equalityman
- The odds: 3-1: the 'temporary' casino is still operating 10 years after it opens surrounded by surface parking lots; 4-1 the temp casino is still operating in 10 years next to a high rise parking garage; 2-1 the hotel 'towers' never get built and we get stuck with a slot barn and a high rose parking deck along the waterfront... and, a whole bunch of those promised construction jobs never quite materialize.— NickEeee
- I know several people who have ruined their lives and their families by gambling. Philly - Say hello to your new bag of troubles!— DonQ
- I'm Leaving. Whose coming with me?— bjack85
- Finally! JOBS— MJMcDevitt
- It's about time.— Christine Summers
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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