SugarHouse Casino Approved By City Planning Commission
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.]
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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too congested ,,,traffic a nightmare— hardball- And it just when I thought Delaware Ave. couldn't been anymore of a depressing wasteland.— phl89
- It's about time. Philadelphia is struggling in terms of money. Revenue from the casino will help the city progress. Maybe the casino can be the anchor for developing the River. Philly is one of the only major cities without a decent waterfront. Camden's is better. On top of the revenue, the Casinos will call for an additional 90+ Police officers plus the hundreds who will be hired by the casino. But I can see the point of the Fishtown residents complaints, I wouldn't be too happy with the added traffic in the neighborhood.— EC1981
- I know lets build a park where kids can play & dogs can poop. Oh yeh! whos going to pay for that. The idiots who are complaining about the casinos are the same ones who chased every developer away from the sites because they wanted to tell them what to build, how to build it and what it should look like. It's amazing how these people love to spend other peoples money. There must be 10,000 Vince Fumos out there.— cuch
- im not seeing the big deal..its a way better location than the foxwoods in market galley EWW now THATS a bad idea..now between chester Harrahs , Sugarhouse Deleware ave, and philadelphia racepark...thats enough casino IMO, i hope foxwoods dont come as well— rayne215
- crime, prostitution, boy I can't wait.
- Finally!— jcc0621
- I'm Shocked!!— artm1
- jobs, are you kidding me?— chudclay
- Huge mistake. All this does is give the crack dealers at K&A a place to lose their money. Fishtown has gone downhill since Rocky Balboa moved out and Adrian's pet shop closed after she died.— Drew777
- Say no to casiNO's— Drew777
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- How many out of work people in Philadelphia are going to be able to past the extensive criminal background check that is needed in order to get a job at a casino? I can't wait to see how angry the residents are going to be when they realize it is all foreigners working at the slot barn. The craptacular "temporary" casino along with the parking garage is all that will be built. Once Delaware legalizes sports gambling no casino is going to invest in a slot barn in PA. So to all of those people praising this move, here is a phrase you better learn to say, "We were had." "Maybe the casino can be the anchor for developing the River. Philly is one of the only major cities without a decent waterfront. " Yep, it will be just as nice as Detroit.— AreaMan
- Big earn. stand outside Harrahs chester and listen to how quiet it is. As for the jobs, i bet most will go to laid off workers from AC. There was an article about a month ago that showed that less than %10 of Harrah's employees are from chester. The property looks beautiful from the renders. Its better than an empty lot. They need to put a few upscale restaurants and lounges in the place to attract a desirable crowd. Im just happy that a major project that can bring money to the city wasn't shot down by a stubborn neighborhood group or politician— franknbeans
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- Casinos - some people go everyday. At first I didn't believe it.— MsLou
- pour some Sugar on meeeeeeeeeeee!— Huge
- I agree with Equalityman. Fishtown Action raises funds through raffles, etc. And representing the majority of Fishtown folk as the largest civic membership org. in Fishtown, we WANT SugarHouse here. Fishtown folk know where our support comes from. But WHO is funding the anti-casino folk? They refuse to reveal. Fishtown Action is all about jobs with benefits, riverfront development and revenue for the city/state. Who supports and what motivates the Anti-casino recent imports Antis?????????????— FishTownForever
- I agree with Equalityman. Fishtown Action raises funds through raffles, etc. And representing the majority of Fishtown folk as the largest civic membership org. in Fishtown, we WANT SugarHouse here. Fishtown folk know where our support comes from. But WHO is funding the anti-casino folk? They refuse to reveal. Fishtown Action is all about jobs with benefits, riverfront development and revenue for the city/state. Who supports and what motivates the Anti-casino recent imports Antis?????????????— FishTownForever
- BJack85.............goodbye. U're leaving alone. Some of us have been here for generations. We don't leave because our famil is here. Too bad ur perception of """invest"""" ment leads u to leave. GOODBYE !!! look for more lucrative pastures. We're here for jobs, revenue and development. Bye Bye.— FishTownForever
- BJack85.............goodbye. U're leaving alone. Some of us have been here for generations. We don't leave because our famil is here. Too bad ur perception of """invest"""" ment leads u to leave. GOODBYE !!! look for more lucrative pastures. We're here for jobs, revenue and development. Bye Bye.— FishTownForever
- The fact that ever politician who pushed this had their palms greased is the big problem here - this is a politicans playground and Philly's headache. If the goal was jobs - why not build a factory there that helps produce those precious "green jobs" we were all promised? Why does the city not lower taxes for business and encourage them to come to the water front and develop. Thats rigth big business is bad an evil - but Harrahs CEO made $37.5 million last year - I guess when it is a DEMOCRATIC backed big business then large CEO profits are acceptable.— reddog44
- Hey Drew777, Rocky lived in Kensington (close to Kensington and Lehigh). He was never a Fishtowner! If you are going to try to sound smart and use a movie reference, please get your facts straight. Now that the casino is coming, anyone who plans on moving, please let me know. I am looking to buy some investment properties cheap! Isn't it funny that in America the majority (FACT Fishtown Action) seems to have won and the minority (FNA Fishtown Neighbors Association) lost. Congratulations to all the hard work by FACT and especially Maggie Obrien!— Fishtowner4Ever
- Yes, I have a friend who ruined his life gambling. At the corner deli (Lottery). SO? What's your point DonQ? Don't you know there are number runners every so many blocks around the city? Idiotic arguments. Should we close all fast food places because some people eat themselves to death?— PhillyS1980
- Fishtown Leaders fought hard for this project to go forward. We could not be more pleased.— FishTownForever
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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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