Gallery plans sail forward with space for kiosk owners

Irma Lopez Salter was smiling Tuesday after a Philadelphia City Council committee decided to let a $325 million renovation of the Gallery go forward.

It's not that she owns a piece of the project. She was pleased because, as part of the deal for the remake, she and other kiosk vendors were given first dibs on spots in the new mall, to be called the Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia.

Lopez ran Perfect Foto at the Gallery and was among the kiosk operators booted in late 2014 and early 2015 as the mall was drained of stores.

On Tuesday she bumped into Joseph Coradino, CEO of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, the developer.

"He wants to make money, I want to make money," she said, insisting there were no hard feelings.

Added Mohammad Nasim, who ran the Intrigue jewelry kiosk, "Right now, they satisfied us. We think we can work it out."

Next the package of bills goes to the full Council, which is expected to vote by June 18. If the legislation is approved and then signed by Mayor Nutter, the Gallery would close for a two-year renovation.

PREIT has joined with Macerich Co. of California to make the Gallery a shiny glass-and-steel emporium filled with brand-name discount fashion shops and destination restaurants.

In the immediate future, the kiosks would be allowed to operate on SEPTA property at Jefferson Station, which is next to the mall.

After the committee meeting, Coradino said he was pleased and that "the Gallery becoming Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia is one step closer to reality."

Last week, PREIT made its initial pitch to Council to transform the now-largely empty mall, but was stymied by concerns over the kiosks and the payment of a living wage to workers at mall stores.

Some Council members sought a pay rate that exceeded the state and federal minimum wage of $7.25.

On Tuesday, Coradino said he had no power to impose wage scales on retailers in the mall. He agreed to a change that would pay future workers of the mall itself, people who handle jobs like security and maintenance, what amounts to at least 150 percent of minimum wage.

The Council bills cover multiple issues - a tax break over 20 years, transfers of land from public to private hands, rights of way, easements - that would consolidate the Gallery under a single owner.

The mall is the main and most complicated piece of a hoped-for revival on Market Street East. After decades of failed plans, developers and government leaders say they believe the eight-block stretch between City Hall and Independence Mall is poised for rebirth.