It’s been over two years since the The Philadelphia 76ers first proposed plans for its new arena, 76 Place at Market East. Since then, the development team has conducted studies centered around community impact and feedback.
Today, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced in a press conference her support of the new arena. “An agreement has been reached that our Sixers are staying home,” the Mayor said in today’s press conference.
It will now be up to City Council whether they will pass the bill.
76 Place at Market East
Overall, they’ve conducted more than 75 meetings with community leaders, neighbors, workers, small business owners, nonprofit organization leaders and government officials. The primary goal was to not only discuss the project, but also to understand how the official proposal could address the needs of the community.
Last year, the Philadelphia 76ers officially announced new details on the design of 76 Place at Market East which included key findings from community discussions.
Since its announcement, the proposal has been met with public backlash and controversy. Specifically, how it will impact one of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, Chinatown.
Affordable Housing
While some people and organizations are not happy with the proposal, others are excited at what will come with the new arena.
During discussions with community stakeholders, the team consistently heard residential affordability is a primary concern. As a result, one of the ways the 76ers are prepared to help increase the supply of affordable housing is through an additional private investment of $250 million in a mixed-income residential building that sits atop the arena.
Although not a requirement of the site’s zoning, the team has decided to take it a step further by pledging to designate 20 percent of the estimated 395 units for rent as affordable housing.
Firstly, this addition of housing to the project is consistent with national trends of combining new sports arenas with mixed-use developments. Secondly, it will increase the overall national supply of affordable housing. Lastly, it will benefit the city by creating increased year-round foot-traffic to east Market Street.
“Our goal is to deliver a new privately funded arena that makes a positive and lasting impact on our city by promoting inclusive community development that will generate more than 10,000 local jobs, more than $1B in new tax revenues for the city, state and School District of Philadelphia, and be a catalyst for the revitalization of East Market Street. We are excited to share the latest conceptual renderings of the project, inspired by community feedback and studying the best aspects from 28 of 30 NBA teams with existing downtown arenas.” said David Adelman, chairman of 76 DevCo in an official press release.
A Sustainable Arena
According to developers, the arena will embody core principles of sustainability at all levels, including design, construction, operations, community impact and fan engagement.
Per the official press release, the design of 76 Place will incorporate sustainable carbon reduction strategies, balancing nature- and technology-driven solutions within the arena framework.
An example of these efforts are the solar panels and green roof as seen in the renderings.
76 Place At Market East
As plans move forward to break ground and bring this project to life, 76 Place continues to share information about the benefits of this project to the city, team and fans. One such noteworthy benefit from this project includes more than $1B in new tax revenues for the city, state, and School District of Philadelphia.