Riverfront Casino Developers Rebuff Penn Praxis

Mayor Nutter last month called on Penn Praxis to conduct an "honest, legitimate, third-party analysis" of whether the designs for two proposed riverfront casinos can fit into the city's plan to develop the banks of the Delaware.  That work gets started next week.  But two seats at the table will be vacant.  The casinos -- SugarHouse in Fishtown and Foxwoods in South Philly -- have declined to participate in the process.

Both casino developers on Tuesday sent letters to Penn Praxis, an arm of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, questioning whether it could be fair.  Foxwoods, writing that the analysis has a "preordained result," suspects that it is meant to develop ammunition for Nutter's desire to move the casinos to new locations.  SugarHouse, noting that it previously met with Penn Praxis, complained that its design has since been intentionally mis-characterized by the group.  Both casinos cited a Daily News story where Penn Praxis executive director Harris Steinberg described the casino designs as "large, windowless boxes"  that do not fit in the city's plan for the riverfront.

Steinberg today said he will press on with Nutter's request, seeking to find ways that the casinos could contribute to a vibrant riverfront.  "I never said casinos can't exist on the waterfront," Steinberg said. "It's just that in their current configuration they're not consistent with the waterfront plan."